Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has denied claims that it “quietly” raised parking rates at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), following viral allegations that it promoted outdated long-term car park (LTCP) rates.
The controversy began after social media influencer Chin Pui Ting, also known as “deadpudds”, posted videos claiming she was charged RM384 for 12 days of parking at KLIA’s LTCP following a trip on May 4.
Expressing shock over the amount charged, she accused MAHB of failing to clearly communicate a price increase and pointed to earlier promotional materials advertising a “the longer you park, the more you save” campaign, which listed lower rates.
She said the promotional rates showed RM27 for the first day, RM17 for the second and third days, and RM9 from the fourth day onwards.
However, she later discovered that the pricing was revised on May 1 to an hourly rate capped at RM32 per day, resulting in higher-than-expected charges.
“We were referring to the old promo that they were promoting so heavily in March. Then in two months, they upped their price from this to this,” Chin said in a video.
She also alleged that there was no clear notice regarding the change on MAHB’s social media accounts.
“I looked through everything. The last post on May 1 was ‘Happy Labour Day’,” Chin said, describing the pricing update as unfair, particularly for lower-income travellers who rely on the LTCP as a cheaper option.
‘Promotion ended Feb 24’
In response, MAHB said the lower LTCP rates cited were part of a promotional campaign that ended on Feb 24, after which charges reverted to standard pre-promotion rates.
It acknowledged that confusion had arisen over the pricing and admitted that clearer communication was needed regarding fare structures and promotional periods.
“Malaysia Airports regrets any confusion experienced by our passengers and acknowledges that greater clarity is essential in communicating car park pricing and promotional period campaigns.
“We are fully committed to immediately enhancing how such information is communicated to all passengers moving forward,” it said in a statement dated May 16.
MAHB added that it has introduced an online parking pre-booking platform on Feb 25 for KLIA’s short-and long-term parking facilities, allowing users to secure advance parking “at rates that are consistently lower than standard drive-in charges”.
The airport operator also pledged to step up social media announcements regarding future pricing updates and promotions, adding that pricing information is available and regularly updated on its website.
Further dispute over campaign timeline
In a follow-up video on May 18, Chin questioned MAHB’s claim that the promotion ended on Feb 24, alleging that social media posts advertising the lower rates remained on the airport operator’s social media pages as late as March 4.
She also claimed MAHB removed promotional visuals after the issue went viral, claiming she was unable to locate the Facebook post she previously referenced.
However, MAHB clarified to Malaysiakini that no posts had been deleted, saying the visuals cited were advertisements promoting online pre-booking parking rates that continued running throughout March.
Chin later said MAHB had messaged her privately following the viral backlash, offering to discuss the matter offline, and shared a screenshot of the private message to her.
She publicly rejected the offer on social media, calling it an attempt to quietly sweep issues under the rug.
“Moving this to private DMs, WhatsApp, or an offline meeting is a classic corporate PR tactic to make a public problem vanish quietly.
“They want to resolve this with me individually to silence the noise, instead of fixing a broken system that affects all Malaysian travellers,” she said.
She argued that the matter should be addressed publicly as it affected other travellers.
Calling for greater accountability, Chin urged MAHB to issue a detailed public explanation on why promotional advertisements allegedly remained online after the campaign had supposedly expired.
“Own up to the fact that you only updated the prices on social media after the public backlash started, instead of giving consumers proper, advance notice.
“Tell the public how you plan to rectify this for every other traveller who parked there based on your active ads and was hit with a massive price shock,” she said, adding that a formal complaint has been lodged with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry. - Mkini
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