ONE of the major bugbears of city dwellers is looking for parking at popular shopping malls. Motorists can almost feel their life force drain from their bodies as they circle aimlessly in mammoth carparks looking for that all elusive empty bay.
This traumatic adventure is not limited to the seemingly futile search for parking bays but also to the equally frustrating experience of trying to exit congested and poorly designed car parks.
This was precisely what popular stand-up comedian Harith Iskander went through when he decided on a weekday outing with his kids to the 1Utama shopping mall in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.
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Recounting his ordeal in a rant on a Facebook Reel, Harith, 59, professed that he doesn’t usually rant but was unable to hide his frustrations over what should have been a leisurely and enjoyable outing with his kids during their school holidays.
Confessing that he never visits 1Utama on weekends “because you are never going to get parking anyway” and trying to exit the car park can take up to half an hour, the doting father of three made a considered decision to take his kids for a movie outing on a Tuesday.
The thespian who appeared in Anna and the King surmised that it shouldn’t be too difficult to find parking on a weekday which it wasn’t. However, problems surfaced when he attempted to leave 1Utama’s carpark.
Recounting his ordeal, the actor whose filmography includes Sepet and Gubra was unable to conceal his frustrations. “Half an hour of issues,” he lamented.
Firstly, the parking system refused to recognise Harith’s ONECARD. His attempts at downloading the 1PAY app and paying online was also unsuccessful as it required him to enter the card number which he cannot remember.
Alternate logins for lost passwords/card numbers were also not available much to the comedian’s chagrin.
Editor’s Note: 1Utama now uses a ticketless License Plate Recognition (LPR) system and no longer a specific physical card like 1PAY alhough ONECARD members can link their vehicle to the 1Utama SuperApp and use the 1PAY e-wallet for auto-deduction.
Meanwhile, non-members can pay for their parking via QR code or at cashless stations using credit/debit cards which are all linked to their license plate.
Trying another tactic, Harith attempts to register a new ONECARD account using his son’s identity card and telephone number which was to little avail as it required him to collect a card at a physical counter!
TnG is the way to go
Almost at wit’s end, he begged another shopper to let him use her card to exit in exchange for RNM10. Finally, Harith and his kids were able to escape the confines of 1Utama’s car park.
“Now, I have many more reasons not to go to 1Utama even on a weekday because of this issue,” declared the irate comedian oft hailed as Malaysia’s “godfather of stand-up comedy”.
“Touch ‘n Go (TnG), people, the whole country uses it, most carparks, too,” Harith urged the management of 1Utama to install a system that recognises a system that is used by virtually all motorists.
Harit’s FB Reel has since generated 1,3K likes, 341 comments and 107 shares with quite a few commenters sharing the same frustrations as the popular comedian.
One irritated shopper queried why 1Utama was so “kedekut” (stingy) in not installing a system that recognises the widely-used TnG (TnG). As it stands, the system at 1Utama is an inconvenience to non-regular visitors.
One reason given for not installing TnG was, perhaps, the need to pay an extra surcharge.
“A hassle” was how one irritated shopper described such parking systems which were driving crowds away. Consumers are spoilt for choice these days, he counselled.
However, some argued it was no biggie as they seem to find the system workable even though it may be a slight inconvenience to non-ONECARD holders.
Another commenter also pointed out that there were plenty of very large signboards directing non-ONECARD members on how to pay.
The crux of the matter here is that competition among shopping malls to attract footfall is super intense.
Surely, installing a parking system that is more user-friendly would be a small price to pay to ensure 1Utama’s continued success. Lest, it wants it to be on the end of bad publicity when a celebrity complains loudly about less-than-pleasant experiences at the shopping mall. – Focus Malaysia
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