By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, April 11: Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) chairman Dato Peter Minos expressed his dissatisfaction over littering and illegal dumping by residents, and urged the public to change their attitude and habits in order to keep Kota Samarahan clean.
While MPKS is keeping its responsibility and doing its best to keep Kota Samarahan clean, he noted that some people in Kota Samarahan cannot be bothered and continued to discard rubbish on roadsides and into drains, rivers, and streams.
“I would say that 70 to 80 per cent of Kota Samarahan residents are very good about throwing their rubbish in the rubbish bins or bulk waste bins (Roros), but the remaining 10 to 20 per cent simply throw their rubbish outside the bins despite the fact that the Roros are present.
“Some of them, after drinking from plastic bottles, throw them on the road, expecting MPKS to collect them,” he said.
Minos pointed out it is not a good culture as well as a bad habit, as MPKS has repeatedly reminded the public to throw dispose of rubbish in rubbish bins or Roros for collection and disposal by MPKS scavenging contractors.
“Some people complain about the size of the bins, claiming that they are too small.
“However, when we put out the large Roros, they continue to throw their rubbish outside the bins,” he said this morning at the Kota Samarahan Civic Centre during the launching ceremony of MPKS’ “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)/Healthy City” initiative.
Minos added that some residents even engaged in illegal dumping by discarding bulk waste into rivers.
“Sarawak Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and I visited Tokyo two years ago and were impressed by how clean the city is. Because their drains are so clean, some fish even live in them.
“If the Japanese can do it, so can we. It’s all in the mind. If we really want a clean place to live in, we can,” he opined.
Minos pointed to Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM) as great examples of cleanliness, and that it is the people’s attitude and mentality that keeps the city clean.
Hence, he appealed to the public to work together with MPKS in ensuring a clean, green, and healthy Kota Samarahan to live in. — DayakDaily
