SHAH ALAM (July 15): The Selangor government on Tuesday walked back an earlier announcement of a new parking concessionaire for four local councils, with State Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Ng Suee Lim saying the new smart parking deal isn’t final yet.
Instead of the earlier announced Menteri Besar Selangor Inc's (MBI) wholly owned unit Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd handling it, the 10-year concession will now involve three parties: the local councils, Rantaian Mesra, and a private company.
On July 9, Ng had said Rantaian Mesra was appointed by MBI for the first phase of implementation involving the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ), Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and Selayang Municipal Council (MPS). At the time, he said Rantaian Mesra was shortlisted from 26 companies, which responded to a request for proposal (RFP) and selected based on strict performance conditions.
According to Ng, the private firm is one of the 26 companies which responded to the RFP.
When met on Tuesday, Ng said Rantaian Mesra was not part of the 26 which responded to the RFP.
He said the Selangor state executive council, which had agreed in a November 2024 meeting to implement the state's parking management via a cooperation between MBI and private companies, selected Rantaian Mesra to manage it through a tripartite agreement.
“The details, covering technical, financial, enforcement and governance aspects among the three parties, are being finalised before the agreement is expected to be signed on Aug 1,” Ng told a press conference.
He added that the planned Aug 1 launch of the new smart parking with 1,800 CCTVs at the four local councils' main parking areas might be delayed.
“We are trying to complete improvements before Aug 1 — but if we need more time, we will ask for an extension from the MMKN (state executive council),” he added.
Ng also refuted allegations that the state was sidelining the local councils through the new concession. "Even though MBI and the concessionaire are involved, enforcement is still under the PBTs,” he said, referring to the local authorities.
He said concession-based parking management is not new in Selangor. “This method has been used since 1996, and as of June 2025, five local councils still manage parking through concession systems,” he noted.
Parking management for these five local councils — MBSA, MPS, Kajang Municipal Council (MPKJ), Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) and Kuala Selangor Municipal Council (MPKS) — were managed by Suasa Efektif (M) Sdn Bhd. Suasa Efektif's chairman is Tengku Sulaiman Shah Alhaj, son of the late sultan of Selangor, Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj, according to the company’s website.
He also likened the appointment of Rantaian Mesra to the 2016 appointment of KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned unit of MBI, to manage the state's waste collection operations.
MBI has no intention of selling its stake in Rantaian Mesra once the new parking concession is rolled out, Ng said. “This is not selling. This is cooperation. The state will have an interest here [in Rantaian Mesra],” he clarified.
Under the tripartite agreement, the local councils will retain full authority over enforcement, while Rantaian Mesra will act as the system coordinator, and the soon-to-be appointed concessionaire will handle day-to-day parking operations of the four local councils — the MBPJ, MBSJ, MBSA, and MPS.
“The appointed concessionaires [including Rantaian Mesra] are expected to invest approximately RM200 million in developing the smart parking infrastructure,” he said.
Ng also dismissed claims that the MBPJ could lose up to RM10 million annually from the new parking concession, stressing that the new model will eventually increase collections once fully implemented.
“There might be a shortfall based on rough estimates. But the newly appointed concessionaire will invest heavily to upgrade the system, including infrastructure and enforcement mechanisms, ensuring revenue collection improves over time,” he explained.
In terms of revenue, Ng said collections will be shared among the local councils, Rantaian Mesra, and the concessionaire, with the local councils expected to see higher revenue without bearing any operational costs due to improved digital systems and centralised oversight. He reiterated that the goal is to increase parking revenue collection from the current 30% to at least 60%.
“Prices (parking fares) remain the same for now. I can tell you that there is no proposal to increase prices at this stage,” he said, while stressing that any future increases must be approved by both the state government and the local councils.