PENAMPANG: The Penampang Municipal Council has collected a total of RM3,790 in compounds so far this year for littering violations.
Its Enforcement Division Chief Norazirina Wilsa said 25 errant individuals were caught disposing of their garbage indiscriminately in towns and commercial areas in the district.
“About 60 of our personnel were involved in 32 separate inspections, since January, at Donggongon, Koidupan, as well as the shops at the Suria Apartments and Grand Millennium,” she said.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“Checks were also made of the HSK Industrial Centre and Kepayan Centre.”
She said a majority of the wrongdoers (8) were nabbed around Donggongon, followed by the Grand Millennium area (3) and Kepayan Point (2).
“A majority of the litterbugs in Donggongon comprised those who went to the ‘tamu (weekly market)’ while, in the case of Grand Millennium, they were tenants living above the shops.”
Compounds of up to RM500 were issued to these individuals, under the Uniform (Anti-Litter) By-laws 2010, according to her.
“In the worst case scenario, we can begin legal proceedings against them.
“If found guilty in court, they face the possibility of having to settle a fine for as much as RM20,000, spend as much as one year in jail, or both.”
Norazirina said the Council was doing its level best to transform Penampang into a litter-free municipality.
“We want the public to be more involved in keeping their surroundings clean by disposing of their rubbish properly at the designated bins and collection points in the district.
“We have made it a point of getting this message across to the younger members of the community in the hopes that they will grow up to be more civic minded adults.”
To this end, she said, the agency recently named SK Bahang as a “Sekolah tanpa Sampah (school without rubbish)”, with former Council President Francis Chong Su Ying presenting headmaster Lawrence Bin George with a certificate to this affect.
“It is the first primary school in Penampang to achieve such a status.”
She said Chong also witnessed a demonstration of garbage collection innovations crafted by the pupils, which was staged specially for the announcement ceremony.
Norazirina said the Council’s personnel collaborated with the District Education Office to conduct talks at the school in 2024.
“Two rounds of audits were conducted at the school this year to verify that the buildings and compound were being kept in an orderly state. In order to be considered a ‘Sekolah tanpa Sampah’ the school had to meet our standards of cleanliness.”