By Jerry Francis
The target to make Ipoh the cleanest city in Malaysia
by year 2023 is a mammoth task. However, it appears that the newly appointed
Mayor Dato Rumaizi Baharin has set his eyes on achieving it.
Since Ipoh was accorded city status in 1988, his
predecessors had all failed to keep the city clean and blamed their failures on
the residents for being uncooperative. They refused to acknowledge that the
city council was not efficient to complete the task.
In case you have forgotten, Ipoh was once proclaimed
as the cleanest city. It was during the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)
administration of the then Ipoh Municipal Council.
How was it possible over three decades ago that Ipoh
could be the cleanest when the city was just a municipality, but as a city it
had failed?
Of course, it may be argued that the municipal council
had a smaller area then compared to the size and population of the city now.
But, the city council has a bigger annual budget and as well as manpower and
better facilities.
Since becoming a city, the emphasis has been on its
slogan. First it was the "Bougainvillea City", and when this failed,
another slogan was chosen. It is now known as "Bersih, Hijau dan
Maju."
The city council had been hoping that with its slogan
everything could fall into line, but it could not live up to each slogan.
As for me the most appropriate slogan is "City
That Tin Built" or "Bandaraya Timah", which sums up the history
of Ipoh and its heritage. And, as well
as an effective slogan to promote the city.
For some reasons this appears to be unacceptable. I
wonder whether it is because we are ashamed of the city’s glorious past.
The
‘Will’ to pursue
If the goal for a cleanest city is to be achieved, Dato
Rumaizi needs to have the “will” to pursue it against all odds. There are a lot
to be done.
First, he has to helm the city council into an
efficient establishment to step up its services vigorously to show it is
determined to move towards cleanliness.
There are thousands of illegal rubbish dumps and a lot
of clogged drains to be cleared, grass to be regularly cut, abandoned and
vacant houses to be checked for mosquitoes’ breeding ground, plants and shrubs
along streets and roads to be taken care, and public parks and attractions to
be properly maintained.
Then, he has to change the mindset of the city-folks
to promote cleanliness without having to enforce the anti-litter law
stringently.
Every household in the city must be directed to place
all their domestic wastes in rubbish bins, not in plastic bags hanging on
fences and trees like Christmas Tree’s decorations only to be scattered by
dogs, cats and cattle. These are among the ingredients of a clean city.
I remember one of the former mayors, who was serious
about achieving cleanliness, attempted to educate the city council employees on
how not to litter the streets when collecting rubbish. He would follow the
dumpsters in his small private car to observe.
When rubbish spilled over on the roads while being
loaded into the dumpsters were ignored, he would immediately reprimand the
employees.
I am not suggesting that Datuk Rumaizi needs to do
such spot checks. He can delegate the councillors and officers to frequently
“turun padang” to check on the services.
Only with the co-operation of everyone can the city
achieve the target. The city council needs to lead by example.
If it failed in carrying out its responsibilities,
then it can expect the residents to also adopt a “tidak-apa” attitude and
discard their wastes indiscriminately and readily blame the city council for
its poor services.
I am confident Dato Rumaizi has the will to see it
through while others had failed. Ipoh has been much cleaner ever since he took
over the appointment.
And I wish him all the success as he embarks on his
quest for the cleanest city status. Let’s work together to achieve the target.
Ends
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