PETALING JAYA, March 26 — Residents here and in Ipoh have blamed the lack of enforcement as the main reason behind the drastic rise in dengue cases. 

Selangor had 19,145 cases while Perak had 3,472 cases up to March 24.

In Petaling Jaya, Section 1B Residents Association president Kok Kuan Yong said the Health Ministry needed a better plan to overcome the dengue outbreak.

“There does not seem to be any communication between what the authorities say they are going to do, and what is actually done,” he said.

Kok said there were abandoned houses in the area which created a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes. 

“Even the drains are a problem as there does not seem to be proper enforcement from MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council).” 

“I think we are doing our jobs. We did gotong-royong twice last year by going to houses and teaching occupants how to get rid of breeding areas for Aedes mosquitoes. We even cleaned the abandoned houses.”

He added it was important that authorities worked together with residents to eradicate dengue.

In Ipoh, Taman Rishah Residents Association chairman S. Jeybalan said even after complaining many times to the Ipoh City Council about clogged drains, the problem remained unresolved. 

“We pay assessment fees. Yet, for years the drains remain clogged and has become a breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes,” he said.

Jeybalan said the council along with other authorities only came to Taman Rishah after a resident in the area recently died due to dengue fever. 

He said the problem with the drains remained.

“After the incident, they sent contractors to unclog the drains only to make it worse,” he claimed.

Lim Garden Residents Committee secretary K. Sagadevan said residents were not afraid to litter and create breeding places for Aedes mosquitoes due to lack of enforcement by authorities.

“There are many abandoned houses around the residential area. There are residents, who dump rubbish and nothing is being done by the council,” he said.

Sagadevan claimed the council lack manpower as there were only 10 officers in charge of the zone in his residential area.

“The zone has four housing estates and mine alone has 680 houses. How are 10 officers supposed to take care of such a large zone?” he said, adding that if proper enforcement was not carried out, the dengue outbreak would worsen.