PARKING PLACES BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

6.05 p.m.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Tan Kia Gan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The purpose of this Bill is to make provision for the transfer of responsibility for the provision of parking places, which is now vested in the Highway Authority, to the Minister upon the final integration of the Local Government Authority with the Government.

Under the Road Traffic Ordinance (Chapter 227), the responsibility for the provision of parking places is vested in the Highway Authority which is, by definition, the City Council within the limits of the City, and' the Chairman of the Rural Board within the Rural Board area. However, as soon as the Local Government Integration Bill - which is now before the Select Committee - becomes law, the integration process will be completed. The Local Authority, which at present constitutes the Highway Authority for the purpose of the `the Road Traffic Ordinance, will go out of existence and the Minister will have to assume these functions.

It is already provided in section 63 of the new Road Traffic Ordinance (No. 26 of 1961) that the Minister shall provide parking spaces for vehicles, and not the Highway Authority as in section 64 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Chapter 227). With the coming of merger, road transport will become a Federal subject, and the administration of the new Road Traffic Ordinance will come under the Federal Government of Malaysia. It is, therefore, desirable that separate legislation should be prepared to enable the Minister to assume the responsibility for parking places which is essentially a local government function.

The present Bill re-enacts substantially section 63 of the new Road Traffic Ordinance, 1961, and the only new provision is in clause 8 which provides for revenue collected from the operation of the car parking scheme to be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Tan Kia Gan].

Bill considered in Committee; reported, without amendment; read a Third time and passed.