KUCHING, March 18: DAP’s Michael Kong holds that it is absurd for Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap to pass the responsibility of improving poor drainage in the area to Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen.
Kong, who is Special Assistant to Chong (Democratic Action Party Sarawak chief) said unlike Yap who has up to RM9 million per year in allocation, DAP’s state assemblymen have no allocation whatsoever from the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government.
“Instead of playing the blame game, Wilfred Yap should pull up his socks and take immediate steps to get the local councils, especially MPP (Padawan Municipal Council), to buck up.
“Start more environmentally friendly policies like the ban of single-use plastic straws, for starters,” said Kong in a statement today.
He said it was entirely irresponsible for Yap as an elected representative to pin the local council’s inefficiency in dealing with public litter and cleanliness on the taxpayers.
To him, rampant littering has been due to a lack of civic awareness which reflects a poor education system and since GPS had been the government since independence, he claimed that “all these point to signs of a poor government”.
To him, instead of blaming the people, local councils like MPP should step up their efforts to educate the public on the importance of maintaining public hygiene and cleanliness.
“I have on numerous occasions stressed the need to raise civic awareness and education and this starts with the relevant authorities like the local councils.
“If the authorities themselves show that they are willing to close both eyes on such bad habits, then are they not telling the people that it is okay to litter?”
He further pointed out that the drains fall within the jurisdiction of local councils like MPP as assessment rates are paid to these local authorities for them to perform their duties such as collecting rubbish and clearing clogged drains.
Kong was responding to Yap’s statement yesterday where Yap had urged Chong to improve the drainage in Kota Sentosa as it fell under the latter’s constituency.
Yap said he had taken proactive steps to address the local issues and expressed his wish that DAP would do the same, rather than fish for support through cheap publicity.
Yap, who is a first term lawmaker, had said this in response to Kong’s earlier statement on March 16, calling on local councils in Kota Sentosa to take action to address filthy drains and drainage issues.
The drainage issues at Jalan Stakan, Jalan Luis, Jalan Durian Burung and Stampin Resettlement Scheme brought up by Kong fall under the State constituency of Kota Sentosa where Yap is the lawmaker while in terms of Parliamentary area, it falls under Stampin, which is under Chong. — DayakDaily
