KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 ― Selangor may be the richest state in Malaysia but it has a dirty “secret”: a domestic waste problem that has been plaguing the state for years now.
On top of that, it is also No. 1 when it comes to dengue cases in the country.
The both, of course, are connected.
Selangor’s garbage problem is not even much of a secret. It has made headlines for uncollected garbage in mostly suburban areas in Klang, Shah Alam and Ampang several times already. Yet, till today, nothing concrete has been done to address this situation.
“Each time when a complaint is lodged at the respected local council, the rubbish is cleared but how does this translate to a long-term solution?” environmental activist Sri Umeswaran told Malay Mail Online.
Residents burn their trash as they fear it would become a mosquito breeding ground.Sri, who has long been an advocate in community development and environment, said that waste management in Selangor must be looked at seriously to ensure garbage collection and issues that come along with it are resolved for good.
To make matters worse, it looks like this garbage collection problem is only confined to the lower-income areas.
“Especially the low-cost flats in Taman Bayu Perdana, Pandamaran and Jalan Kebun… there are heaps of uncollected garbage and this is not the first time this has happened.
“Every year, it happens like the haze but no proper solution is taken by the state to address this. I am not attacking the state government... I just want this matter resolved once and for all,” he added.
Sri said the collection of garbage in the upscale neighbourhoods of Damansara and Petaling Jaya is done accordingly though.
Bits and pieces of uncollected trash along Jalan Meru.A check by Malay Mail Online on several parts of Klang, namely Bukit Raja, Flat Sri Angkasa in Jalan Batu Unjur, Jalan Meru as well as Jalan Kebun and Kampung Jawa in Shah Alam showed rubbish dumped along roadsides and drains because the bins allotted to the areas were either missing or already filled to the brim.
In several places, residents even set their domestic waste on fire for fear that mosquitoes will breed in the uncollected garbage.
A resident of Desa Latania, Shah Alam said he cannot remember when garbage was last collected from the flats.
“The rubbish bins have been full for the longest time. I saw some workers collecting the garbage in June and that was it,” Mohamed Faiz said.
Another resident in Taman Bayu Perdana said the same thing, adding that the problem has been an ongoing one since he moved into his apartment here in 2012.
Uncollected garbage for weeks cast an ugly sight and smell for residents at a flat in Taman Bayu Perdana.“Each time some of us complain to MPK (Klang Municipal Council), they will come down but after that it is back to square one,” Leong Chee Chin, 42, claimed.
State authorities blame the spike in dengue cases on several factors, one of which is vacant buildings and unfinished construction work. However, little or no mention is made of the horrendous garbage collection system in these areas.
In the meantime, the rubbish keeps piling up.
Ever since Pakatan took over from BN rule the RUBBISH Problem started! Stupid rule requiring rubbish to be put in plastic bags to be eligible for collection is one as I have seen people putting empty carton boxes LED Tv into unused thick store bought big size plastic bags just so it can be collected - what a waste of natural resources. And the garden refuse or plant material is almost Never collected, when Alam flora was in charge these refuse were collected within a week. Now these Bangladesh workers are choosing here to keep clean, especially in more affluent neighborhoods, as they can earn money from these households - neglecting the others and when there is a large piece of refuse they ask for MONEY to collect them! And they also like to ask for cleanup services for monetary gain. The MBPJ should take a proactive role in these or else the Pakatan can be VOTED out in next elections for such compliancy.
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