The current hike in parking rates has not gone down well with the rakyat and in particular with the business communities that are severally affected.

While the authorities may argue that the new rates are necessary to ease the traffic congestion in and around the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, there appears to be much questionable haste and wastage in implementing this new parking rates - a business that is increasingly being perceived by the public as a money-minting opportunity.

Before any new policies are put into place that directly affect the citizens, care must be exercised to ensure that it does not infringe onto the the ethical boundaries of doing business. The grapevine is abuzz with unanswered questions as to why a private company is operating the new parking rate business instead of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) taking on the responsibility.

The ethical consideration underlying this concern is that, if DBKL is the sole collector of parking income, then the society becomes the beneficiary ultimately as the cash-rich DBKL can then spend the money on meaningful services that make city living and doing business more breathable, refreshing and supportive.

Then there is this ethical question of how are the new rates are being implemented. It speaks volumes on the lack of ethical considerations that obviously burden city folks and businesses even more.

Firstly, the new rates that are well over a 100 percent hike, and would mean that you have to carry a bag of coins with you every day. The parking meters accept only ‘syiling’.

Secondly, while a ‘red’ signage hung from a pole beside a parking meter indicates that the first hour is RM2.00, and the second hour RM3.00, that which is displayed on the meter states the rate for the first hour is RM1.50 and another RM2.50 for the second hour.

Thirdly, while both notices state that you can only park for a maximum of two hours, they do not indicate what the options are for those wishing to park longer just as much as it does not alert the user of the liability of exceeding the two-hour limit.

Ethics in business demand that your customers are not misled. The onus is also on the operator (in this case the private operator who was awarded the lucrative business) to consider all aspects of the business including communicating with responsibility.

And meanwhile, DBKL is now made out to be the culprit of this conflicting rates posted at parking meters.

Any amount of “sorry, we will look into it” is not acceptable because we are talking about two serious consequences, namely:

One, why is DBKL not the business operator of the parking meters and hence the body that manages income derived from citizens and users?

Two, if a company private has been awarded this collection business, what is their profitability and how come they do not even have the resources and means to ensure that communication is addressed to the letter and not adding to the inconvenience and confusion among end users?

Indeed, when ethical considerations are not of paramount importance but taken lightly or worse, dismissed entirely by the powers that be, citizens and the business community suffer - unjustifiably. And let us not forget that DBKL becomes the victim of a bad reputation eventually.