Lok Kawi rubbish collection: Village Chief told to write in
Published on: Friday, June 28, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
City Hall despatched a backhoe-case and three workers to clear the construction waste on the road leading to Kingfisher Cove Garden.
THE Putatan District Council will weigh up the possibility of removing the garbage from a Lok Kawi village, once it receives a formal request from the rural community for this service.
City Hall, on the other hand, is keeping an eye on one part Inanam to ensure that illegal garbage dumps do not spring up along the access road to a neighbourhood there.
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This action was prompted by an appeal for the local authorities to extend a collection service to Kg Lok Kawi Baru, as well as feedback about the renovation waste strewn on the pavement and part of the stretch leading to Kingfisher Cove Garden.
The individuals who raised these issues provided Hotline with the relevant information which was forwarded to the respective agencies.
A sign was put up to deter litterbugs from misusing the road-shoulder.
A Council spokesman said a check of its records showed that the Kg Lok Kawi did not fall within the agency’s rating area.
“Nevertheless, the village chief (VC) can still write in to ask for a collection service,” he said.
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“A list of the households which are amenable to having their garbage removed, by the company tasked with doing this, should be attached to this letter.”
He said this correspondence would be tabled when its “Jawatankuasa Kebersihan (Cleanliness Committee)” next met.
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“The committee members will have to determine the feasibility of extending our garbage collection to Kg Lok Kawi Baru, including whether the firm’s compactors would encounter any difficulties reaching the village.”
Should they approve the VC’s request, the spokesman said, each family would be liable to a monthly fee to receive this service.
“A inspection will, subsequently, be carried out of the village, with the VC being asked to suggest a suitable location in which to site a Roro (Roll-On-Roll-Off) bin for the rural folk to deposit their rubbish.”
“The bin will have to be placed on a road reserve which is both close to the homes seeking our service and, more importantly accessible to our compactors.”
Action was taken to remove these sacks full of building material.
MEL, who lives in Kg Lok Kawi Baru, bemoaned the inconvenience of having to drive to the nearest commercial centre to dispose of her family’s garbage at a communal bin there.
She said the commercial centre was located about 15km-20km away from the village.
“If I’m not mistaken, this area is considered a part of Penampang but I have never seen any of the District Council’s compactors passing Kg Lok Kawi Baru,” she said.
“I hope this authority will consider building a bin-centre in our area so that we have somewhere to throw our rubbish.”
The Penampang District Council was initially informed of Mel’s plea.
A spokesman for the agency sympathised with her predicament, but said the Council was helpless to intervene as Kg Lok Kawi was located “outside the boundaries for Penampang”.
Meanwhile, City Hall has cleared some construction waste which was haphazardly dumped along the road to Kingfisher Cove Garden and is keeping tabs on the goings-on here to ensure that this problem does not recur.
A City Hall spokesman said an inspection was made of the stretch on the same day that it learned about what had transpired near the neighbourhood.
Officers with the agency’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) confirmed the presence of discarded pieces of plywood and sacks of building debris in places along Lorong Kingfisher 20, according to him.
“An isolated road-shoulder was one location which had been transformed into a dumpsite,” he said.
“From the type of waste which was observed, they came to the conclusion that an irresponsible contractor may have thrown this unwanted material here.”
He said a three-man team returned with a backhoe-case to remove the waste a few hours later.
“A sign was later put up to deter litterbugs from misusing the reserve again.”
The spokesman said those caught disposing of their refuse on the road-shoulder risked being served with a compound for as much as RM500 under the agency’s Anti-Litter By-Laws 1984.
To this end, he said, SWMD staff had been asked to make periodic checks of Lorong Kingfisher 20 to try and catch the errant parties red handed.
“Repeat and defiant offenders risk of having legal action taken against them. Should they be found guilty in court, they face the possibility of having to settle a fine of up to RM10,000.”
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