SUBANG JAYA, July 31 — Housing, Local Government and Urban Well Being Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar chided today Selangor for its problematic rubbish disposal programme that has persisted even after the state took control from the federal government four years ago.

To accentuate the issue, he contrasted the number of complaints made in Malaysia’s most developed state against that faced by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), which is enveloped within Selangor.

“There are not much problems in Kuala Lumpur with DBKL. Why does Selangor have so many garbage collection complaints though they are just neighbours?” he posed during a news conference after launching a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) carnival at a school here.

The Selangor state government, then led by Pakatan Rakyat, took over garbage collection from the federal government appointed concessionaire Alam Flora beginning January 2012, and complaints of garbage collection in the state had persisted since.

Advertisement

Noh said he has been made to understand there were many complaints from Selangor residents over their garbage collection, and attributed the problem to the state government seeking to “act smart” by handling disposal on its own instead of letting the federal government deal with it.

“Every year, the federal government allocates RM2.2 billion for rubbish collection concessions.

“But because Selangor did not want any part in this, they don’t get the funds,” the Tanjung Karang MP said.

Advertisement

Noh also said that as such, Putrajaya will now try to help with garbage collection in low-cost flats that were originally built by the federal government.

“We see the problems are persisting though we passed the management to the state government. So we will step in to help out as much as we can,” he said, referring to low cost flats in Lembah Subang 1 and Lembah Subang 2 as examples.

Malay Mail Online recently highlighted the waste management problems faced by some residents in Selangor, especially those who live in low-income areas, who said they have been plagued with irregular garbage collection weeks on end, resulting in large piles of refuse on the road or in exposed bins that cause them to fear for their health.

When contacted, Ean Yong Hian Wah who chairs Selangor’s local government, new village development and legalising of factories committee claimed sabotage by outgoing contractors to be the cause of the problem.