Sandakan committee reaches out to people
The Sandakan Municipal Council’s Highway and Public Utilities Committee (HPUC) is taking a pro-active approach to identify problems faced by the people of Sandakan.
Instead of waiting for people to come to them with complaints, they have been going around for on-site visits to different areas of Sandakan to get feedback from the people and see how they can help.
“We understand that in many cases, there are people who want to seek assistance or make complaints but do not know where to go or whom to approach.
“Therefore our HPUC members have decided to make ourselves available to the public by visiting different areas of Sandakan and actively seeking out local residents to listen to their grouses,” said Taren Sunil Manoharan, the head of HPUC.
During the recent visit to the Sim Sim area, Taren Sunil and his colleagues met with residents at the water village, the SMC flats and shoplots and the nearby Yii Villa to discuss matters concerning them.
“We had a very fruitful dialogue with several groups of residents in the area. One of the main issues was the rubbish constantly being washed ashore by the incoming waves. This makes the shoreline very messy and dirty,” he said.
However, he pointed out that if rubbish were not thrown into the sea by irresponsible people, there would be no rubbish to wash ashore aside from occasional pieces of driftwood.
“We took the opportunity to urge residents to be civic-minded in disposing of their rubbish into bins and not throwing them into drains or the sea. Everyone must play a role to help keep Sandakan clean and not just blame the council for everything,” he stressed.
Other issues discussed were the abandoned cars, blocked drains and problems with dustbin sites where very often rubbish were strewn all over the ground instead of properly disposed of into the dustbins. Some residents also expressed their dissatisfaction with upkeep and maintenance of the flats, shoplots and several public areas.
“We advised the residents on many issues and also assured them that their problems will be brought up during SMC meetings for discussion,” added Taren Sunil.
The HPUC head was pleased that their site visits have given him and his committee members a clearer understanding of the different problems faced by the residents of Sandakan.
“We will also communicate and coordinate with the respective members of parliament and state assemblymen and do our best to work out solutions to make Sandakan a place for all of us to proudly call home,” he concluded.