IPOH, Sept 15 — Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for an extensive public engagement exercise to get residents prepared for the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Act, touted to take effect within the next couple of years.
Ipoh Ratepayers and Taxpayers Association deputy president Victor Sankey said although the move to privatise waste collection was good, it could turn out to be a failure in Perak.
He said he was not aware of whether Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) had met ratepayers to explain its disposal operations.
“As far as I know, there has been no public engagement. We are ill-informed about the solid waste management plan. No party has made any attempt to clarify the matter to the public,” he said.
Sankey said there should be town hall meetings with NGOs, communities and residents associations to ensure efficiency of implementation once the Act was enforced.
“Such meetings will help iron out ambiguities, answer inquiries as well as entertain proposals raised by the ratepayers,” he said.
Perak Consumers Association president Abdul Rahman Said Alli said the implementation of the Act would encourage recycling. However, the implementation mode was wrong, and it should not be profit-based.
“The company’s priority should be to serve the people because we, the taxpayers, are their biggest funder,” he said.
Abdul Rahman said he was not against privatisation of services, provided they were carried out in accordance with the law.
“Both the state government and SWCorp must declare the operational cost to the people so they can see the value for money that they will receive,” he said.
Ipoh City Watch (ICW) president Dr Richard Ng said the state government should adopt the Act.
“The people have been yearning to have good waste management services. ICW urges the state government to go for it,” he said.
“The current waste management system is no longer efficient. There are over 2,000 illegal dumpsites in Ipoh alone, and they make up about two-thirds of the whole of Perak.”
Ng said by signing the waste disposal agreement, the local councils could hand over the waste management service to efficient and effective parties.
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