1,700 rats exterminated in state capital
More than 1,700 rats were caught or found dead in a control programme carried out by Kota Kinabalu City Hall between January and September this year.
KOTA KINABALU: More than 1,700 rats were caught or found dead by Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) between January and September this year in the city.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department, Datuk Edward Yong Oui Fah, said the City Hall environmental health department vector control unit had implemented a rat control program involving two rat elimination methods that used rat poison and rat traps.
“According to statistics obtained, a total of 1,817 rats were caught or found dead in 2015. In 2016, the total number caught or found dead increased to 2,277. Up to September 2017, a total of 1,720 have been caught or found dead,” said Yong, who is the minister in charge of City Hall.
“The program implementation involved areas around the city centre, Tanjung Aru town and also six City Hall markets, namely the Kota Kinabalu central market, Tanjung Aru, Sembulan, Inanam, Manggatal and Telipok markets,” he added, when officiating at the Eliminate LILATIN campaign launch at City Hall Building here yesterday.
Yong also called for unified cooperation to overcome LILATIN, an acronym from the word lipas (cockroach), lalat (fly), tikus (rat) and nyamuk (mosquito) in the city.
He disclosed that Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) had devised various programs to comprehensively and continuously tackle LILATIN related issues and reports before it goes out of control.
“We all know the bad things that is brought on by the LILATIN creatures that is synonymous with the transmission of various diseases, such as food poisoning, cholera, dengue fever, blight, leptospirosis and other diseases,” said Yong, adding that these diseases are very dangerous and can lead to death if the patient does not receive immediate treatment at medical centres.
Yong stressed the LILATIN presence stemmed mainly from the bad habits of the community itself.
“A dirty place and poor disorganized food waste management can invite cockroaches, flies, rats and mosquitoes,” he said.
“It is my hope that strategies that had been planned can be implemented well and continuously. I also urge all stakeholders, namely the involved officers, NGOs, community leaders, operators of food premises and the general public to cooperate in making the program a success. Without everyone's commitment, we will not achieve any success,” emphasized Yong.
According to Yong, the ‘Bah, Marilah Hapuskan LILATIN' (OK, Let's Eliminate LILATIN) campaign implements strategies such as the enacting of by-laws for food waste separation at food premises, organization of innovative rat trap competition and creating a mobile 'Buy Back Centre'.