KOTA KINABALU: The Sandakan Municipal Council’s Highway and Public Utilities Committee (HPUC) is disappointed with the habit of littering among certain individuals among the society.
In a press statement, HPUC head Taren Sunil Manoharan expressed his disgust as he witnessed the sheer amount of garbage being scooped up from the clogged drains at Jalan Sim Sim here yesterday.
“We are happy that the Public Works Department (JKR) is putting in so much effort to help dredge the drains as well as the seaside at the Sim Sim area.
However, by the amount of trash we saw, it is obvious that there are certain segments of society who do not care a hoot about the environment,” said Taren.
He pointed out that since their last visit to the area, the state of affairs seemed to have deteriorated with more rubbish of every kind dumped into the drains and surrounding areas. The seaside was also not spared.
“Even while our anti-littering campaign is still ongoing, there are still litter-bugs (kutu sampah) who couldn’t care a bit about helping to keep Sandakan clean,” he lamented.
Taren also pointed out that Sim Sim is fast becoming a tourist area where there are already several well-known seafood restaurants.
“It certainly would not look good if tourists have to walk past unsightly heaps of rubbish floating along the seaside on their way to having a meal,” he said.
He stressed that the authorities can only do so much with their limited manpower and funding. The rest would be up to the residents themselves to be more proactive in keeping the environment clean.
“While the vast majority of residents are doing their part in keeping Sandakan clean, we need to persuade the very small but stubborn minority of irresponsible litterbugs to change their attitude,” he concluded. — The Borneo Post
