Selangor not using Shah Alam solid waste station, Senate told

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor government stopped using the Solid Waste Transfer Station in Section 21 Shah Alam after the federal government took over the facility at the end of July, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Deputy Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique said this showed that the state government did not appreciate the federal government upgrade of the station at a cost of RM79 million to help the people of Selangor manage their solid waste.
“The state government sent solid waste there initially but after the ministry took over the facility it stopped doing so and sent the waste directly to the landfill in Jeram.
“We wanted to help, we spent RM79 million, but the Selangor government does not want to use the facility,” she said when replying to a question from Senator Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin.
The senator had wanted the ministry to state the immediate measures taken by the ministry which he said had allocated a huge budget to resolve problems and issues faced by the people of Selangor, such as waste disposal and housing maintenance.
The minister, Tan Sri Noh Omar, had reportedly said that the ministry would immediately repair the station after it took over the facility at the end of July to facilitate the sending of solid waste to the station by four local authorities which now sent the waste to the landfill in Jeram.
The ministry had also reportedly discontinued the contract of the contractor appointed by the state government that expired on May 21 as it was dissatisfied with the work.
Following the discontinuation of the contract, the transfer station, which could process 1,000 tonnes of solid waste, was closed for three weeks, thus forcing the four local authorities to send their waste to Jeram.
Halimah said the federal government had never marginalised the people of Selangor but tried to help them, including managing solid waste disposal which the state government had failed to do well.
Replying to a supplementary question from Megat Zulkarnain, Halimah said the ministry had recently approved RM9.4 million for the maintenance of six people’s housing schemes in the Gombak parliamentary constituency represented by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
The ministry also approved RM6 million for the maintenance of people’s housing schemes in the Cempaka state constituency, she added. — Bernama