Bad Parking and Creative Public Retribution - a rant of sorts

Use your brain.. use your brain...

Bad Parking. A couple of days ago, me and Heche were having a post-work drink at our neighbourhood bistro. Suddenly the peace was broken by the incessant honking of obviously disgruntled and angry drivers. Being the busybody that I am, I investigated the uproar and saw that a Perdana (a Malaysian saloon), illegally parked, was blocking the small side-road where our bistro was situated. The driver finally gave up and drove away.

After our brief soiree we passed by the offending car, and saw a note paper slipped in the windscreen wipers. hurriedly scribbled the writer advised the driver of the Perdana to "Guna Otak" which translated means "Please use your brain."

The Perdana driver ought to be thankful for this civic-conscious note of advise. For I have seen other more vigilante-esque reaction to bad parking in my neighbourhood. I saw one old lorry trying to pass by a corner where one car was blocking the appropriate entry. The lorry move forward and backwards, forward and backwards, turning bit by bit trying to get in, but alas to no avail. By that time a small crowd was already assembled and they were egging the lorry driver to "Jalaan... Langgar saja... langgar saja..." (Go on... Just hit the car). Collectively motivated that way, the driver did as he was told and his lorry (already beat-up and ridden with dents and scratches) grazed and dented the car's rear. The crowd cheered and clapped. 

On another instant, at the very same illegal parking spot, I saw a big municipal rubbish bin placed on top of the roof of a car. How I would love to have seen the look on the owner's face when he saw that creative public shaming sitting on his / her beautiful car!

Take a picture! This is rare sight in my neighbourhood.

The people who work in my neighbourhood of Desa Sri Hartamas are not mean-spirited at all. For we tolerate and sometimes park illegally ourselves because there is just not enough parking for everyone. But even when you do something illegal, you must be sensible and considerate. And anyway, I have been fined more times for not displaying my parking ticket than for being illegally parked on a yellow line. So at the end of the day, the enforcement unit of our municipality are more concerned with their parking collection than the safety and convenience of road-users. Because really, had they been thoughtful of the needs of the people, they would not have permitted such dense development of this neighbourhood without providing for adequate parking spaces. And before you say that we should take the public transport, let me share with you that Desa Sri Hartamas is one of the least serviced area in my city with only a couple of buses piling this route. It is ridiculous.

Hmm. Quite a rant.

Have a beautiful day, sunshine. And please park sensibly, even if illegally.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way