KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — Indiscriminate garbage disposal in low-cost flats is not just a matter of poor civic consciousness, but it is also caused by the lack of infrastructure available in higher-end residencies in comparison.
At low-cost flats, garbage must be disposed of on the ground floor, but sometimes the lifts do not work. Even when they do, residents, especially those living on top floors, are reluctant to carry their rubbish with them downstairs as they fear stinking up the lifts and causing discomfort to others riding in the same lift.
This, however, does not seem to be a problem for higher-end apartments and condominiums because a trash chute or trash room facility is made available at the end of each floor, making garbage disposal an effortless chore for its dwellers.
Zubaidah Abdul Rashid, resident of Block 102 of public flat PPR Sri Pantai, agreed that the condition of elevators was one of the reasons for residents to give up on proper garbage disposal.
“Sometimes the lifts break on our way down to throw the garbage and we wouldn’t carry it back up again because it is stinky and gross. So some would just leave it at whichever floor the elevator stops and it then becomes someone else’s problem.
“Some other times, there would be so many people in the elevator so no one in their right mind would carry their stinky trash with them. It is then left on some walkway or by the door for someone else to clean up,” the 46-year-old woman told Malay Mail.
Malay Mail also visited a high-end condominium, Gateway Kiaramas, in Mont Kiara to gauge if its infrastructure was utilised properly by residents.
A resident who only wished to be known as Rosetta, however, admitted to leaving her trash bags outside of the garbage room because she had paid “someone to clean up after her”.
“I paid a big amount for maintenance every month and it is not as if I am throwing my garbage wherever I please. Sometimes when I am in a rush, I would just leave it by the door or next to the trash can. It has never been a problem,” she said.
When asked why she did not dispose of her garbage in the designated area, she only responded with: “When I open the room, it reeks.”
Gateway Kiaramas management office spokesman Suriati Kamaruddin said while cleanliness was almost at 100 per cent, it was frustrating to see some residents littering at the common areas.
“One of the very few problems we have is of residents smoking at the common stairs and throwing cigarette butts everywhere. But it is not a big problem because we have nine cleaners on daily duty to help maintain the area,” she said.
The residency, which hosts a 60:40 ratio of locals to expatriates, has 168 units and it is spread out over 30 stories with a built up size of 743 to 3,563 square feet per unit.
Third-class mentality
PPR Kerinchi residents’ association chairman Abdul Hamir Othman said it has almost became a norm for residents there to witness items like chairs, garbage bags, soiled diapers or even bricks flying off of the upper floors and landing on the ground floor.
Abdul Hamir, who has lived there since 2008, expressed his disappointment but added there was very little the association could do since it was all in the mentality of the tenants.
“There are about 300 doors. I cannot be going door-to-door to advise people on how to live their lives. If they do not have civic consciousness, no words of advice would get through to them,” he told Malay Mail.
“Admittedly, some like to take the easy way out by tossing their garbage out the window but more often than not, it is the naughty children who like to throw things from above.
“I have marked a few houses and spoken to their respective parents but to no avail. You’d be surprised to know sometimes it is the parents who throw things off of the balcony during fights,” he added.
Resident Sawiyah Osman, who was manning a sundry shop on the ground floor of Block E, pointed out that a brick just flew off from a high floor and landed right next to the roof of her shop a few minutes before Malay Mail’s arrival.
“If you were here just five minutes earlier, you can witness for yourself how bad the attitude of the people here is.
“Some came from setinggan so when they move to a proper housing block, they carry that nonchalant or could-not-be-bothered attitude with them,” she said, using the Malay word for squatter resident.
PPR Sri Pantai residents’ association chairman Tusiah Dino, who has been staying there 15 years, said she noticed it has become habitual for residents to leave their unused furniture lying around, which end up in front of someone else’s door.
“The way they think is that ‘at least it is not my problem anymore’ and other tenants who stumbled across junks on their doorstep would then not think twice to just toss it downstairs.
“Both are obviously at fault and this obviously has a ripple effect on the community living here,” she said.
A 15-year-old boy from PPR Sri Pantai was killed last Wednesday when he was struck by an office chair flung from the 21st floor of the flat.
Other problems
While some other high-rise homes may not face a similar problem, residents are still affected when fellow tenants behave irresponsibly.
For a medium-cost apartment in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, the problem of noise pollution exists when the common hall is booked for parties or get-togethers.
Its management office manager who only wanted to be known as James, however, said they adhered strictly to the house rules and would serve a notice to residents who flouted the rules.
“Seventy per cent of the residents here are expatriates, so they really like to throw parties and when they do, they tend to not keep the noise at a minimum.
“We have received some complaints before but after we talk to them, they do not repeat the offence,” he said, adding the management reserves the rights to send eviction notice to tenants who disobey house rules.
A resident who requested anonymity said she has been staying there for six years and the only problems she had ever encountered were noisy neighbours and others taking her parking spot.
“Cleanliness is a priority here, which I applaud, but because I live on the fifth floor, I can hear when people on the floors above me put on loud music. I can understand it so long as it is not at the wee hours.
“What really get on my nerves is when other tenants use my parking spot. Spaces are limited and I paid to have an extra spot so when I come home after a long day only to see some inconsiderate person conveniently take up my spot, it just riles me up,” she said.
