Selangor has rolled out a centralized hotline for complaints on garbage related issues following heavy criticism on the state’s management of solid waste.
Selangor Menteri Besar, Khalid Ibrahim said the 24-hour hotline will be operated by the Bulk Waste Management Complaint Center under the purview of the state government and every complaint made will be recorded.
He said the center will then forward the complaints to respective local authorities, with 48 hours to respond to complainants.
“From there we can know the percentage of waste strewn in an area, and the days taken by local authorities to solve the problem,” he told media after chairing the State Exco meeting on Tuesday.
He reckoned that there is “an element of sabotage” by certain quarters to show that the state is unable to manage its waste after taking over the job from Alam Flora Sdn Bhd in October 2011.
“They will dump half a lorry or one lorry of waste at a place immediately after we clean that place,” he said, adding that the four major hotspots are Shah Alam, Klang, Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya.
The state had re-engaged Alam Flora’s subcontractors for solid and bulk waste collection jobs until Dec 31 2011, and cited the need evaluate their performance before any contract extension.
Last Thursday, a number of pro-UMNO bloggers quoted Selangor BN vice chairman Noh Omar as saying the state has descended from a “developed state to a dirty state”, citing state government’s failure to handle its own waste.
It was followed by TV3 highlighting the omnipresence of bulk waste in the state.
Khalid also said yesterday that he will advise local authorities to reward civilians who spot litterbugs in their respective area.
On another note, he said the decision on the Kampung Terentang high tension cable towers route will be made next week.
He also urged TNB to be professional when dealing with the villagers’ concerns, and not to make statements hastily that the alternative route is not feasible.
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Navin Kumar Perianen
Sashidaran Gunathevan
Maran Perianen
