Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is considering outsourcing the removal and disposal of abandoned vehicles to licensed scrap metal dealers in a bid to ease overcrowding at its depots and reclaim public parking spaces.
Its three depots — in Taman Connaught, Salak Selatan and Pantai Sentral — have already reached their combined capacity of 3,700 vehicles. According to The Star, cars are now being stacked on top of each other to make room.
DBKL spends millions of ringgit each year towing these vehicles but recovers only about RM300,000 annually through auctions. The financial strain is worsened by legal processes that can take more than six months per case.
By law, DBKL must issue several notices, verify vehicle ownership with the Road Transport Department (JPJ), and wait months before holding its annual auction, which typically clears between 500 and 1,000 vehicles.
Under the proposed outsourcing plan, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s aide Alice Lan said discussions were underway to allow scrap metal dealers to manage both towing and legal disposal.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng supported the plan but said DBKL should adopt transparent disposal systems similar to those in Singapore and Japan.
Complaints about abandoned vehicles continue to rise. Authorities received 4,510 reports across the Federal Territories, with 80 per cent of cases in Kuala Lumpur.
Residents in public housing schemes such as PPR Kampung Muhibbah and PPR Sri Aman say hundreds of derelict cars are taking up bays, attracting pests and being used as makeshift rubbish sites.
The issue is no longer limited to public housing areas. Commercial districts and private condominium car parks are also reporting an increase in neglected vehicles, with enforcement described as slow and ineffective.
Alongside outsourcing, DBKL is also considering other approaches, including cash incentives for voluntary disposal and encouraging use of JPJ’s e-Dereg online deregistration system.
