KUCHING: Kuching South City Council (MBKS), Kuching North City Commission (DBKU), and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) have jointly set up task forces to tackle common issues faced by the three councils.
MBKS mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng said these issues included cleanliness, illegal extensions, security, public health, and environment.
“We set up the task forces among our three councils so that they will be able to come up with suggestions and solutions as to how we are going to tackle these issues,” he said at a press conference after a joint council meeting session at MBKS council chamber here today.
He said these matters would be left to the relevant sections such as public health, licensing, buildings, and engineering — depending on the issue being handled.
The councils will set up a task force when the need arises in order to tackle specific issues, MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang added.
With regard to the meeting, Wee said the three councils had agreed upon and adopted the terms of reference for their joint council. He said this would be their guideline, objectives, and responsibilities.
“We also discussed some common issues that we have,” he said, adding discussions were held on the Building Ordinance, management of risk for buildings, and cleanliness.
During the meeting, DBKU mayor Datuk Junaidi Reduan put up the proposal for the “Cleanliness Month” campaign, which according to him was targeted to be held in July next year for a one month-period.
“It was supposed to be organised in August this year, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed.
“It is to be jointly organised by DBKU, MBKS, and MPP, because when we talk about Kuching City’s cleanliness, it is not just about each council’s area but instead it encompasses the whole of Kuching City,” he said, adding that various activities would be organised for the month-long campaign.
Wee said this was the first time all three councils had held a joint meeting, while last December both DBKU and MBKS had a joint meeting. He said these joint meetings were supposed to be held quarterly but the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in delays.
Meanwhile, Lo said it was good that the three councils could come together to identify common issues and form common policies.
“I believe that this will benefit the population of Kuching. We can complement one another,” he said.
