Public urged to keep Sandakan clean
SANDAKAN: The public should help keep Sandakan clean, said Sandakan Indian Association (SIA) president Taren Sunil Manoharan.
He made the call after going pro-active by hiring a cleaning crew to clean up the entrance into Taman Melrose at Mile 4, Jalan Utara, Sandakan.
“For quite a long time now residents of Taman Melrose have been facing an eyesore of strewn trash along the whole stretch of road leading to their homes,” said Taren Sunil.
Unable to wait any longer for action by the local authorities, the SIA president recently recruited a cleaning crew to undertake the cleaning job. They collected the scattered trash, shoveled away encrusted mud and cleared all the clogged drain holes.
“The local authorities such as MPS (Sandakan Municipal Council) have actually allocated a site for rubbish bins just nearby to the rows of shops in the area and yet there are people who simply throw rubbish wherever they liked,” said the exasperated SIA president.
“We have seen on TV, the electronic news media and newspapers reporting on exhortations by the government to keep the town clean. There are also campaigns held at schools to instill in school kids a culture of zero tolerance for littering and yet there are those who couldn’t care a hoot about cleanliness of the environment,” he lamented.
He suggested that tougher laws be implemented to deter litterbugs as was done in the past when they were fined or had to do community service such as sweeping the streets. He added that these laws should be strictly enforced.
Meanwhile Taren Sunil also asked parents to keep reminding their children the importance of keeping the surroundings clean wherever they may be.
“Parents have to inculcate in their children that it is everyone’s duty to play a role in keeping our town clean and to reduce the opportunity for pests and vermin to breed,” he emphasised.