Malaysians working in S'pore add to JB's parking woes, with little relief in sight

The sky is still dark when sisters Wong Oi Fah, 79, and Wong Oi Ling, 68, arrive at 4.30am, ready to begin brewing concoctions at their Chinese herbal drinks shop, which opens from 9am to midnight in downtown Johor Bahru.

- Harith Mustaffa

JOHOR BAHRU - The sky is still dark when sisters Wong Oi Fah, 79, and Wong Oi Ling, 68, arrive at 4.30am, ready to begin brewing concoctions at their Chinese herbal drinks shop, which opens from 9am to midnight in downtown Johor Bahru.

Despite the early hour, it is "very hard to find parking" for their compact Perodua Myvi.

The aggravating parking situation in the state capital's city centre has become worse of late, exacerbated by Malaysians working in Singapore who hog public parking bays in the area before heading across the Causeway by bus.

As it is, residents, business owners and visitors in the area have to compete for limited parking spaces. The problem is compounded by the daily stream of workers heading to the Republic, who leave their parked vehicles from day through night in the southern state's various towns.

"It's been like this for many years," said the younger Madam Wong at their century-old Kok Yow Yong Drinks Shop when The Straits Times visited recently, noting that many of the public parking spaces are taken up by the time she gets to the shop.

"I pity the businesses here... the lots are always full," she said, adding that businesses like hers alongside kopi tiams, beauty salons, old-style jewellery stores and sundry shops - have been struggling to attract customers who cannot find a spot to park in the bustling downtown area. And those who chance it by parking on the roadside have had summonses issued and their cars towed away by Johor Bahru City Council enforcement officers, who regularly conduct checks.

But little relief is at hand for the time being, as the local authorities continue mulling over solutions to the endemic parking woes, involving time limits for public parking bays and providing more parking spaces downtown.