GEORGE TOWN, Jan 19 — The Penang housing department will heighten enforcement at People’s Housing Projects (PPR) to stop indiscriminate littering and obstruction at corridors, under the Strata Management Act 2013.
Penang state exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said the department must enforce the existing regulations to stop the problem from becoming a danger or nuisance to residents.
“We look seriously at the recent incident where a boy died after someone threw a chair down from a higher floor of a flat, and we want to prevent this here,” he said in a press conference at a PPR in Taman Manggis today.
Aside from enforcement, he said awareness programmes were also needed to educate flat residents about the dangers of high-rise litter.
“We need to reach out to the residents and educate them against throwing things out of their windows or corridors as this is no longer about cleanliness but also a safety issue,” he said.
Last year, Jagdeep said the housing department issued 28 notices to PPR residents for offences such as obstructing common corridors, littering, illegal structures and renovations and other activities that are a threat to the safety of other residents.
The notices were issued in accordance with Schedule Three, Section 4, Article 20 of the Strata Management Act 2013 on prohibitions against obstructions.
“We encourage residents to report any activities that threatened their safety so that we can take immediate enforcement action,” he said.
On the awareness programmes, Jagdeep said the housing department will work with Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) to reach out to the communities living in high rise buildings.
PWDC had conducted community awareness programmes with the Desa Wawasan and Jalan Sungai PPR before this.
“I have also ordered for a meeting to be immediately held with the housing department officers and PWDC officers to discuss ways to educate residents in PPR,” he said.
