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Have you ever been embroiled in parking wars? Then you’ve got to let go steam by laughing at the sardonic rants of Peter Citrin who wrote on Malaysian parking styles in The Star Online Community.
Consider this line:
“When it comes to parking in Malaysia (and all around the globe for that matter), all logic and rules of communal civility are abandoned. The parking lot is a sphere where primal instincts take over, where humans wantonly mark their territory not by urinating, but by parking their motor vehicles wherever they want”.
Citrin’s hilarious take on what he calls our “national obsession over parking space” may shed light on public parking lots but believe you me, the stake over who bags the best spots in driveways of private housing estates is just as fiercely fought.
Take unassuming Kana for example. He lives opposite territorial old Uncle Wong and his household of seven, well…eight members ─ him, his wife, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, their 2 school-going children and a dog ─ in tight, 16ft by 55ft terrace housing with driveways so narrow you could squeeze only one car in. Only on good days could you get through the gateposts without scraping the vehicle’s sides.
Now the problem is exacerbated by the fact that Kana is separated from Uncle Wong by a road that is a mere 20ft wide, held in by a cul-de-sac. That meant, nobody could let the hot air out. The tight housing arrangement would not have caused a problem if everyone had stuck to their quota of just one car but the trouble was ─ Uncle Wong had eight. One for each adult member of the family and then some.
For some strange reason, Uncle Wong thinks he can fit all eight of his cars into his driveway. If he couldn’t, then he would fit them into other people’s driveways. And if he still couldn’t, then into every available and non-available spot along the entire road.
Uncle Wong also had some kind of delusion that he held freehold status on whichever patch of road he parked on because only hell or high water could make him budge. Naturally, this irked the neighbours to no end and a small ruckus would result everyday over who had the right to park in whose space. On occasion, especially during the morning rush hour, there would be skirmishes with Kana too. One or the other would reverse into each other’s cars by accident. Kana owns a van.
One day, a small atom bomb detonated. Kana had invited his friends over. They parked on the no-man’s land of a small grass patch in the cul-de-sac, a favourite spot of Uncle Wong’s. When the old man arrived home, he went berserk.
Who dared to park at his spot? He promptly walked over and banged at Kana’s gate.
“Remove your car!” Uncle Wong demanded. “This is MY parking spot.”
Kana retaliated. “Since when did you own that spot?”
“I’ve been parking here for years! I have the right. Your friend is just a visitor, he should park somewhere else.”
“No. We’re not moving. This parking space does not belong to you.”
“No? OK. Then I will smash your car.”
But before Uncle Wong could make a move, Kana’s fist was in his face.
Needless to say, it was a bloody melee. Both men pounded each other to a pulp and wound up in the police station. And one is still suing the other for aggravated assault.
(Up)tight living conditions. Sigh. They bring out the beast in you.
Parking Wars and Other (Up)Tight-Living Battles: The above story recounts the tale of tight living in a taman of terrace houses (hey, nice alliteration there!). Imagine how much worse it would be for apartment or condo dwellers who have to meet and share spaces with neighbours they dislike.
Then there is the awkward moment of bumping into your neighbour in the car park, corridors, lifts, and facilities such as the sauna, gym and swimming pool (it can get very uncomfortable bumping into and sharing a lift with a same-floor neighbour you’ve fought with).
Here is another tragicomedy. Although the story is about a real-life Singapore HDB flat fight, it illustrates the point that when breathing space is stifled, when personal space is curtailed and violated, when there is overcrowding, people just go nuts.
On the issue of parking, in Malaysia, depending on the size of the high rise unit you purchase, the parking bays provided rarely exceed two. Only when you’re very lucky might you get three. This number does not meet the realistic number of cars required in households today. Each adult owns one car at the minimum (some own three). In a family of four adults, that would mean four parking bays if not more.
Parking is a perennial problem in Malaysia, yet remains one that is overlooked and under-allocated despite the frequent eruptions of parking wars in, around and outside of the home. In fact, it may be the chief cause of neighbourhood spats in both types of communal-living: apartment vertical villages and landed property tamans.
So before you ask to put that sticker on your chosen unit – Stop.
Ask yourself these all important questions:
- Do you have enough parking space? What can you do if you don’t?
- Are those parking bays side-by-side or in tandem? Tandem parking can cause a lot of stress too. Imagine – one car has to move out before the other car can exit. And after you exit, you’ll have to park the first car back.
- Buying extra bays may be permissible by some developers but the additional bay’s location might not be next to your given bays. Can you live with that?
- Renting bays may also be permissible. Again, the parking lots might not be next to your given bays and will add to your monthly expenses in the long run. So you either have to own less cars or do your accounting before purchase.
Parking insights are thoughtfully answered in PropertyGuru – New Launches.
PropertyGuru New Launch has some of the most engaging reviews on the latest homes in the market. Look in the Introduction section on how many car park lots are given for the high rise reviewed. Sometimes the issue of tandem parking may be covered.
Sometimes, the car park itself may be covered if the developer has taken pains over it such as ensuring that ramps and bays are wide enough to accommodate the larger SUVs and MPVs that people own these days. Parking lots may seem like a trivial matter in the bigger picture of home hunting but actually, it is a very important aspect to all-round happier living.
Visit PropertyGuru to keep yourself updated on the latest launches, as well as to read unbiased property reviews of new projects.
