Once upon a time in Lim Garden, the thrice weekly household garbage collection was very efficient and occasionally if the garbage is not collected on the scheduled day, it was collected the following morning. Lately, the collection has been erratic. I kept track of garbage collection for the months of March and April. The garbage was to have been collected for 26 days, but actual collection was for 16 days, a drop of 38 per cent in efficiency.
When the assessment rate was increased 0.5 per cent, former Mayor Roshidi said that with this increase, MBI would provide better service; it looks like the other way round.
It is time for the new Mayor to follow his predecessor and turun padang and meet the residents and hear their problems personally. I have not had the opportunity to meet the new Mayor and so far none of my friends have met him. It is time for him to make himself accessible and be seen more often in public.
My suggestion is that the appointed councillors for each zone be made responsible to supervise the garbage collection and other essential services like drain cleaning in their respective zones. They can also observe other works carried out by MBI workers. By doing this the councillors can get to know their zones and meet the residents as well. During monthly MBI Board Meetings they could submit their reports. This is one of the ways the residents could rate the performance of their councillors.
A. Jeyaraj
