Council Full-board Meeting
The first Ipoh City Council Full Board Meeting for Year 2018 was held on Friday, January 26 at the designated meeting hall. Mayor Dato’ Zamri Man spoke on two pertinent aspects – cleanliness and dog license.
Since Ipoh was declared the cleanest city in 2016, the pressure of keeping the city consistently clean has intensified. To deter people from littering in public, the council has sought the help of the mass media to publish photos of litterbugs in order to shame them.
“This is to remind that you’re being watched no matter where you are. I feel this is the most effective way as fining the offenders is ineffective,” said Zamri.
The council has formed a rubbish-hunting team that goes around the city clearing illegal dump sites. The mayor hopes that the public will be more civic-minded and refrain from littering in view of upcoming festivities. If there is a request for ‘gotong royong’, the team will willingly assist.
On the issue of dog license, the current ruling that each household is entitled for only two licenses remains. The license is priced at RM10 for a year and RM30 for three years.
Launching of Mobile Counter
The launching of the council’s ‘Kaunter Bergerak’ or mobile counter followed soon after the full-board meeting. A Mercedes Benz van bought and modified some time ago operates as a mobile counter serving Ipohites in far-flung areas of the city. The van has been operating since January 2010.
The vehicle parks itself at marketplaces, residential and peripheral areas for the convenience of Ipohites to pay bills, etc. It helps reduce the number of people crowding the council building counters.
The response from Ipohites is overwhelming. In 2016 an amount of RM235,170 was collected via the van. Last year RM256,030 was collected. The popularity of this mode of payment prompted the council to buy a new van as a replacement. The new van was modified at a cost of RM250,000.
“Currently, this is the only van available for this purpose. However, due to encouraging feedback we’re planning to acquire more vans in the future. In a year or two we’ll have an additional van,” said Zamri.
Only payments such as assessment bills, business or advertisement permits, parking fines, etc., are accepted at the mobile counter. The van will be parked at the following locations: Mondays at locations requested by ratepayers, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at marketplaces and council flats and on Thursdays at hypermarkets.
Car Free Day
The first Ipoh Car-free Day of the year was held on Sunday, January 28 at Jalan Raja DiHilir (Tambun Road).
This was one of the rare occasions where parents did not have to worry too much about their kids running freely on the road. Free balloons, a bouncing house, a mini library and a petting zoo were on the programme.
There was no lack of fun for the adults either. Hundreds of people filled the road. Some jogged, some walked while others cycled. They partook in health-related activities such as aerobics and futsal. Those hungry for a bite were not short of options, as there were plenty of food stalls around.
Going on the theme, ‘Save the Earth’ a recycling competition was held. It was a smart way to promote recycling, especially among children.
It was a fun-filled day for all those who attended.
By Khaleeja and Joshua
