PETALING JAYA, Feb 1 — Beginning today, the Petaling Jaya City Council will kick off a two-month rat-catching campaign where it will pay RM3 for every rat caught.
It is part of the council’s initiative to eliminate the rodent menace and prevent the spread of diseases.
The campaign, open to all residents including foreigners, is expected to substantially decrease the number of rats especially in hotspots like PJ Old Town and Section 17.
The cash will be paid on the spot when the rats are brought to the council’s counters at the Jalan Othman wet market from 9am to 10am or at the Section 17/1a wet market from 11.30am to 12.30pm everyday.
Bukit Gasing assemblyman R. Rajiv’s office will provide the cash, and the council will bear the other costs including banners and moving counters.
“This does not mean we will stop our own operations, we just want to increase the effort,” Rajiv said.
“We find that conventional incentivising gives immediate results and we want to see people join in to bring down the rat population.”
Traders at PJ Old Town said the campaign showed the council was serious about eradicating the rat menace.
“The current method of poisoning does not seem to be effective, the number of rats just seem to increase,” Hadi Chandra Purnama, 26, said.
“I once caught up to 20 rats a day which shows how bad the problem is.”
Khairul Ifthizam, 22, said the rat problem was getting out of hand.
“We even see them running around while we are carrying out our business, so I hope this campaign is effective,” he said.
Zainun Mustafar, 46, said the campaign was a good short-term solution but she was not confident it would make much of a difference in the long run.
“It will help reduce the numbers a little but the issue will linger because the root of the problem is cleanliness.”
Zainun said she would not take participate in the campaign but her workers probably would.
