Putatan Council urged to resolve residents' woes - SAPP

KOTA KINABALU - "We urge the Putatan district council to seriously resolve the problems faced by the residents in the area particularly the residents of Taman Bersatu,” said Datuk Richard Yong.

Datuk Richard Yong We Kong, who is Secretary-General of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) recently visited the area after receiving complaints from residents of Taman Bersatu about the faulty sewerage plant in the area. The resident Madam Chong Len Kiau and one other resident Madam Shim lamented that the pump of the sewerage pump has not been functioning for many months.

Because of the main plant does not function, the man-hole of each houses were filled with filthy waste which in turn created toilet blockage.

The residents claimed that they had made numerous complaints to the Putatan District Council and to the JKR but to no avail.

Richard said that as long as this problem not being resolved properly, a few hundred residents there will continue to suffer not just the inconveniences but face the risk of health hazard menace. 

“The council or the JKR should not deviate from their duty, stop letting the people there suffer, resolve the problems immediately,” he stressed.

He said the sewerage plant problem was further aggravated by unclean, blocked drainages and garbage problems and one could easily see piles of uncollected rubbish of all kinds being dumped at roadsides and placed in front of houses.

The garbage, according to the residents there were uncollected sometimes for two weeks resulting in filthy smell, surrounded by flies, dirty and disease causing. The irregular garbage collection problems had been there for years. Some residents resorted to open burning.

Putatan is located adjacent to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), highly populated area and oversees by government Ministers.

"It is difficult to imagine garbage collection and sewerage plants could remain a major long un-resolved problem in such a prominent area for years,” he said.

"I urge the officials there would take the people’s welfare seriously and act on such health-hazardous problem without delay, without excuses. The sewerage problems, the clogged drains, the grass-cutting, the garbage collection, the street lighting etc. The council could emulate the City of Kota Kinabalu where the Mayor took cleanliness seriously and often went to the ground to supervise the cleaning himself," he told.