Recently, I read news coverage in a local daily which pertinently raised so many questions as to why the impressive Ipoh Railway Station square is in a pathetic state.
The primary question is whether the deterioration is due entirely to the wilful misuse by the public or because of the dereliction of duty by those responsible for maintaining these assets which rightly belong to the taxpayers. Over the last few months the country had experienced dry spells and I had observed the lush greenery was not watered. Why were the sprinklers not turned on? Should I assume there were no sprinklers in the original design? If it was known to the Ipoh City Council that the public was trampling and damaging the turf, why then were people not prevented from doing so? Installing a notice board on the site hardly suffices when there is a lack of enforcement. The damage done to the pavements have been there for some time now and it is anyone’s guess why the damage was not rectified.
Perhaps, Ipoh City Council should be mindful that like the Railway Station square, there are other public facilities, like buildings, roads, pavements, public drains and obliterated road names, signboards, that must be upgraded regularly.
I leave it to the readers to make their own conclusions if all the above are the result of wilful misuse by the public or because of the lackadaisical attitude of the local authority.
Victor Sankey
Ipoh Ratepayers and Taxpayers Association
