THE long-standing issue of abandoned cars at McCallum in George Town is set to be resolved as the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) issued notices to 31 vehicle owners today, urging them to remove their vehicles.
Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Wong Yuee Harng announced that PDC would take stern action to clear the vehicles, freeing up space for other residents to park and addressing potential health concerns. Macallum falls within Wong’s constituency.
“We’ve 21 blocks of flats at Macallum built by PDC 30 years ago, and we’ve identified 31 abandoned vehicles so far. These vehicles have been left unattended for a long time, causing obstructions. One of the vehicles is even used as a ‘dumping store,’ which can lead to health issues.
“I urge the owners to remove their vehicles promptly before PDC, as the landowner, takes action,” Wong said at a press conference at Block 348, Gat Lebuh Macallum.
Also present were Manpal Singh, representative of Tanjong MP Lim Hui Ying; Investigation and Traffic Enforcement Department deputy head DSP Tarhizi Omar, PDC senior administrative assistant Azlan Zaki, PDC administrative officer Akram Koyappa, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) assistant enforcement officer Azizan Md Desa and MBPP enforcement officer Salihin Basri.
Akram, who placed the notices on the cars’ windscreens today, explained that PDC would issue a total of three notices, each 14 days apart, before taking further action. Vehicle owners will have to pay a fine when reclaiming their cars.
Azizan advised the car owners to visit the MBPP website for information on selling their cars as scrap to any of the 11 registered contractors.
DSP Tarhizi added that police would assist by checking whether any of the vehicles were cloned or stolen.
Story and pix by K.H. Ong