Lo Khere Chiang
KUCHING: About RM2.1 million was spent by Padawan Municipal Council (PMC) since 2009 just to replace stolen manhole and drain covers in areas under its jurisdiction.
Showing how rampant and serious the menace was, chairman Lo Khere Chiang said that they had to spend RM900,000 in 2009, RM600,000 in 2010 and another RM600,000 last year to replace the stolen metal covers.
In this regard, he believed that the Second Hand Dealers Act 1964 if implemented by the State Cabinet would definitely reduce the number of missing metal covers as buyers must record the full particulars of sellers of scrap metal.
“If the Act is enforced, we should be able to see a reduction in the number of metal drain cover theft. It (Act) will help us to control the movement and business transaction between buyers and sellers of scrap metals,” he said when commenting on The Borneo Post’s front page article that the act was yet to be approved by the State Cabinet.
“Now that metal theft happens so rampantly, the council is suffering from the effect of the losses. For instance, if we don’t replace the holes immediately, unfortunate incidents could happen. People may fall in the hole and get themselves injured and we would be liable,” he lamented.
He cited a few cases when the council had to compensate those who fell into the uncovered holes and drains, saying the council had to buy public liability insurance to cover the compensation claims.
He added that efforts to replace the holes and drains with new steel covers was not the answer to the problem as they could be stolen again, forcing the council to resort to concrete covers which was time-consuming and cumbersome.
In some areas, he said they used wooden covers as temporary replacement while waiting for the delivery of concrete covers.
“These temporary timber covers are usually put along footpaths. However, if the place is being used by heavy vehicles and cars, we cannot put timber covers or replace them with concrete ones, we have to immediately replace with steel covers,” he pointed out.
On Aug 20, Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said that enforcement of the act would greatly help in curbing metal thefts in the state as it would make it harder for thieves to dispose of their stolen goods.
“The issue here is, when there are people buying, then there will be people selling. If dealers are allowed to trade without some sort of regulation, they could easily buy stolen goods without any constraint.”
He added that it was not only the local authorities that were suffering huge losses from metal theft but the victims also such as public utility companies and even private developers.
“Developers of new housing projects, either private or public, as well as contractors involved in government projects have also suffered similar loses. They have complained that building materials were often stolen.”
The state has tightened the issuance of the Second Hand Dealers’ licence.
Abang Johari said there was no question that the act had been extended to Sarawak and it was only a matter of when the new law will take effect.
“The bill was passed some time last year and it was the state government which wanted the act to be extended to Sarawak. The state Police Commissioner Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani has also given a clear statement that the act will be implemented in full force once the procedural issues have been addressed,” he said.
At present, all regulatory bodies are working closely with each other to see through the implementation.