PETALING JAYA: There are no set guidelines on safety and security measures at car parks which must be adopted by shopping mall operators.
A check with local authorities and other stakeholders revealed that all parties had differing guidelines on safety measures at car parks.
Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice--chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (pic) said there was a need for the local authorities to have a set of standard guidelines to ensure that all car parks at shopping malls or highrise buildings were safe.
"If necessary, these guidelines should be introduced by the relevant ministry and should be made mandatory to ensure that all car parks, whether public or private, are safe because the local authorities play an important role in crime prevention," he said.
Lee also said there was a need for the local authorities to constantly carry out checks at parks at at shopping malls and highrise buildings to ensure the guidelines were being followed.
His call comes in the wake of an attempt to rob and abduct a 25--year--old woman at a basement car park at the Curve in Mutiara Damansara on May 27.
Chin Xin Ci was placing her shopping bags on the back seat of her car when a man slammed the rear door against her back.
The man forced her to hand over the parking ticket before taking over the wheel.
Chin was forced to lie on the floorboard, head down, while the car exited the boomgate.
She managed to escape five minutes later by freeing herself and jumping out of the moving car.
Richard Chan, past president of the Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management (PPK) and national committee member of the Building Management Association of Malaysia, criticised the local councils for their outdated guidelines on car parks at shopping malls and highrise buildings.
"Check for yourself. Ask the local councils about their lighting requirements and you will realise that they do not meet today's security needs," he said.
In 2007, the Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management drew up a set of guidelines in relation to security features at parking lots in shopping malls and highrise buildings.
The guidelines consisted of eight main points, including recommendations for the use of CCTVs at entrances and exits of all car parks, one panic button for every 500 bays that was linked to a siren or beacon system, and compulsory use of walkie--talkies by all guards.