KOTA PADAWAN: Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) is spending between RM50,000 and RM100,000 of taxpayers money every year on dealing with illegal dumping within its area of jurisdiction.
MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the council has been spending huge amount of money on illegal dumping which recenly has become very rampant again.
“People simply throw rubbish on the roadside and at secluded place, jungles and all over the places in Padawan areas. In the kampungs, in Arang Road even Capital Garden, Batu Kawa, Jalan Stapok and whereever there are secluded areas there are illegal dumpings.
“I just don’t understand and
I am very disappointed and very sad about this because we have been talking about this day in and day out. I just don’t understand why people throw rubbish on the roadside, drive their cars and lorries to some place secluded, dump their furniture, the carcasses of dead animals and all kind of rubbish. I don’t understand why people do that,” he asked at a press conference after MPP full council meeting here yesterday.
Lo said it saddened him because when he went to visit other countries, they didn’t have such problem that we have here.
“The people there are very obedient. Yeah, they may have a lot of rubbish, but they collect them, even when there is no rubbish bin readily available, or not big enough, they collect them and put them somewhere, and their council will come and pick it up,” he explained.
Lo said, MPP has been encouraging recycling among the people and even going to schools to promote recycling.
“I am sad to say we have been encouraging recycling for many years now but I don’t seem to see improvement on this illegal dumping. Of course, as it is very important, we will continue to do it (encourage) recycling in schools,” he said.
Lo, who is also Batu Kitang Assemblyman said: “ I hope that our young boys and girls will become ambassadors of this great cause. I believe that everything has to start from young and this kind of habit and good intention has to start from our school children.
“I hope these young boys and girls will become ambassadors when they go home, they will remind their elders, the parents and family members not to simply throw rubbish.
“I really hope that our society will go to that extent where we don’t have this problem any more,” he added.
According to Lo, the laws and fines are there to deter people from illegal dumping but the problem is to catch them red-handed inorder to impose these laws and fines.
“We need to catch them red-handed,” he added.
“We got so many places that are secluded in Padawan Council area – the small litle jungles here and there, so it is not easy to catch them red-handed,” he said.
“The laws, rules and fines are there , but it is not easy to catch them. That is why I think playing the police-thief catching game is difficult,” he said.
“I hope that we can change their mindset, their thinking , feeling and mind,” he said adding that was important and could only happen when these kind of information and good habits were inculcated, disseminated to the school children while they were still young and when they become adults they will become responsible because they understand how to protect the environment.
According to Lo, these illegal dumpings are done by the adults as the young people and school children don’t know how to drive lorries.
“These are done by adults in the society. They drive lorries to those spots and just dump the rubbish,” he said.
Lo said none had been as they could only be fined when they were caught red-handed.
Meanwhile, Lo urged to report to the council if they come across people doing illegal dumping.
“Take their photos and send to me and I post it on my facebook,” he said, adding it had done it on few cases, and those people had called up, apologised, collected and cleared the rubbish away.
