COMMENT | This is Kuala Lumpur in 2026. So why are parking touts still moving around like they own the place? Who gave them that right? Who told them they can stand at parking spots, ask for RM10, RM15, or even RM20, and talk to people as if they are the boss there? What kind of rubbish is this?

I went through it myself in Jalan Beremi, right in front of Shawarma Alqas Aliraqi Restaurant. The spot where I parked belongs to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and was supposed to be free at night.

Still, I was approached and told to pay RM20. RM20. For what? A few metres away, private parking was only RM15. But this fellow still had the nerve to ask for more on a spot that did not even belong to him.

When I challenged him, the excuse was the same old nonsense. They had been doing “business” there for a long time. Business? Since when did illegally collecting money on somebody else’s spot become a business?

After years of inaction, these people now do this openly because they know nobody is really serious about stopping them.

Call it as you wish. This is not...