KUCHING, Feb 20: It is irresponsible to pass the buck to Syarikat Sesco Berhad (Sesco) without taking the initiative to look into the malfunctioning streetlights along Jalan Liu Shan Bang at Mile 7, Michael Kong said in a call out to Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang.
Kong, the special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen, pointed out in a statement today that whenever there is a problem with street lighting, water pipes, or garbage collection, MPP will blame Sesco, Kuching Water Board (KWB), or Trienekens, respectively.
“(And) when there are potholes on the road or problems with poor landscaping, MPP blames it on a lack of funding. If everything is always never the fault of MPP, then what purpose do they serve?
“Since MPP collects assessment (rates) from the people, then MPP cannot shirk their responsibility to provide service to the people,” he asserted.
He went on to say that MPP and its councillors should learn to be more responsible and stop making excuses for their shortcomings.
On the recent issue of malfunctioning streetlights along Jalan Liu Shan Bang, Kong emphasised that Lo and MPP councillor Amy Tnay should be aware that it is not a new occurrence.
“Since May 2022, I have already reported the issue of faulty street lighting on numerous occasions.
“Since this is a recurring issue which has never been looked into and resolved properly by MPP (despite our previous complaints), it is not wrong for us to publicly call upon MPP to look into the issue and get to the root of the problem,” he explained.
He also stressed that MPP councillors should read and understand MPP’s functions and services, one of which is ‘planning, development, and maintenance of infrastructure and public amenities, including roads and streetlights’.
“As such, it is sheer irresponsibility to pass the buck to Sesco without any initiative to look into the matter,” he added.
Furthermore, Kong continued, “If Amy Tnay or MPP (where she is a councillor) do not like to hear bad remarks or comments from the people about MPP, my advice to them is to buck up and improve their service!
“Otherwise, Amy Tnay is more than welcome to resign from her role as councillor and let others who can do the job take over.”
In the meantime, he stated that DAP would continue to speak out whenever they observe wrongdoing or incompetence, especially on the part of the authorities.
“Again, I urge MPP to quickly resolve the street lighting issues at 7th Mile instead of blaming DAP for highlighting their inefficiencies,” he said.
Yesterday (Feb 19), Lo revealed that Sarawak Energy Berhad (Sarawak Energy) is in charge of maintaining existing streetlights and installing new ones.
He stated that streetlights along major roads are under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department (JKR), whereas those along minor roads, internal roads, and shophouses are under the jurisdiction of the council. — DayakDaily
