You’ve just finished a late night meeting and can’t wait to get home. Walking to your car at a deserted mall car park, all you can think about (besides work) is spending some time with your family for at least a few hours before you go to bed. Little did you know that you’re being followed and about to get jumped by three men.

What are you going to do?

What can you do except to fight back and risk getting killed or give him everything you have and let them carjack you in the process?

It seems like Malaysians are left helpless in the fight against ‘car park crimes’ that’s been on the rise of late. Looking at it from a criminal’s point of view, car parks are perfect targets for theft, robbery, assault and kidnapping. Even my apartment in Damansara Perdana has put up a notice since last week reminding residents to be careful on account of a car theft case at the car park several weeks ago.

This is not the first of such cases, mind you. A friend and neighbor recently told me that his friend’s Toyota Supra got nicked a few years back. From their apartment, they actually saw the thief drive off with the car from the car park but it was too late to do anything by that time except to call the cops.

So, how do you resolve this car park crime problem? The obvious answer is to initiate a collective effort between the police, building managements, security companies as well as the public itself. Security definitely needs to be beefed up and at the same time the public must also look out for themselves and each other. Even men are not safe these days so everyone has to be extra vigilant.

Most car parks in big shopping malls and condominiums these days already have CCTVs and security guards. However, a comprehensive guideline must be drawn out by relevant bodies related to building managements. Unfortunately, at this point of time, the recommended security guidelines for car parks by various organizations differ from one another.

The Malay Mail recently highlighted on its website, car park guidelines by the Malaysian Association for Shopping Complex and Highrise Management, Subang Jaya Municipal Council, Petaling Jaya City Council and Kuala Lumpur City Hall. See for yourself below.


Malaysian Association for Shopping Complex and Highrise Management

(The following guidelines were proposed in 2007 to the Housing and Local Government Ministry)

• Closed-circuit television (CCTV) - Mandatory to be installed at all exits and all entrances of the car park.
• Panic Buttons - Recommended to be installed on car park floors, to be linked to a siren and/or strobe light on the same floor at strategic locations.  

- There must be one panic button for every 500 bays, subject to a minimum of one per floor.

- The panic button must also be linked to a siren or beacon system to emit a loud sound or strobe light when activated.

• Security Guards - Agreeable to a minimum of one security guard for every 500 car park bays or less. This is also subject to the provision of security counters or base with rotation of guards on patrol duty.

- Security guards must be sent for annual or regular training programmes to maintain service standards.Compulsory and mandatory - Walkie-talkies by security guards

• Boom Gates - To also provide a boom gate and a hump at all exits from the car park
• Other equipment encouraged include motion detectors, burglar alarms and infrared cameras

Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s safety and security guidelines for basement car parks

• Sufficient CCTV and lighting for all car parks.
• Business owners to install and maintain CCTV, set up a control centre for it, train staff to handle it, draw up a standard operating procedure in the event of a crime that requires retrieval of footage, implement a duty schedule for personnel managing the CCTV, bear cost for installing and maintaining it, and to connect it to the police control centre
• Ensure clarity of CCTV is sharp and the number of CCTV units installed and location must cover the whole area

Petaling Jaya City Council safety and security guidelines for basement or multi-level car parks

• Lighting is an important feature when building basement or multi-level car parks. Three points to note regarding lighting are adequate brightness, illuminated color and reduced glare.
• 24-hour CCTV  - The use of clear directions at the entrance and exit and warning and informational signages such as security precautions
• Parking lots for disabled (OKU) drivers must be allocated at all public, business, recreational and multilevel buildings be built on a flat surface and clearly marked.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall

• Adequate lighting and CCTVs
• Ratio of OKU parking lots are 1:100 lots
• Public notice including parking rates, operation hours and management company name
• Clear directional signages at entrance and exit

As you can see, there is no cohesion to ensure proper security guidelines are met by building managements. Meanwhile, certain quarters have been boasting about some smartphone applications designed to send SOS via the devices. That would help to a certain extent for those who own smartphones although it’s hard to imagine someone using the app while he’s being chased by an assailant with a machete.

But, to be fair, the authorities seem to be doing all they can to ensure our safety. But as citizens, we also have to do our part to voice out our concerns over the matter. Today, news came out about government departments and agencies now being required to seek public opinion before proposing draft amendments to existing laws or introducing new Bills. Reports say the mandatory requirement covers local council by-laws, policies and regulations by ministries and statutory bodies, irrespective of whether the laws needed to be tabled in Parliament.

According to a senior government official, the draft for proposed amendments or formulation of new laws must now be put up on the websites of the ministries, departments or statutory bodies for at least 14 days for public scrutiny and feedback. The “ministry, departments or agencies will analyze the responses and make adjustments to the proposed changes”. The draft will then be displayed on the websites for another two weeks to enable the public to be aware of the alterations made and offer more feedback.

So, with this new privilege provided by the government today, we should practice our rights and give our ideas and suggestions (instead of merely criticizing) on how to resolve this car park menace. Let’s change and not have to wait for a daughter of a minister or other VIPs to be victims before something adequate is done.

- mD