Drivers treating traffic junctions like ashtrays — Council

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SIBU: Drivers throwing cigarette butts indiscriminately at traffic light junctions are getting on the nerves of Sibu Municipal Council.

This lack of civic consciousness has snowballed to such a magnitude that some junctions had become eyesores.

The council’s deputy chairman Daniel Ngieng told The Borneo Post yesterday this happened because drivers who smoked inside their cars threw the butts out as they waited for the lights to turn green.

“The situation is getting so annoying our workers have on some occasions counted these littered butts and found thousands of them sprawling on the road and by its sides,” he said when commenting on the council’s action against litterbugs.

Ngieng said drivers faced the risk of being compounded, and hoped that they would improve their habit to clear the streets of unwanted litters.

He said slapping them with a compound was necessary, “but, it is more important that townsfolk learn about keeping the environment clean.”

He said being civic minded was important and such education should begin in every citizen to improve the image Sibu.

Ngieng said the number of the offenders who had been compounded this year for such offence was higher than those recorded in the past few years.

Statistics from the council’s administration office showed that 2,598 offenders were nabbed in the first nine months of this year, as compared to only 1,758 for the whole of 2011.

In 2007, there were 559 offenders, 2008 (523), 2009 (408) and 2010 (169).

Ngieng said offenders were required to pay RM10 on the spot when caught in the act.

He opined that the number of offenders caught could just be the tip of the ice berg.

He agreed that the situation could be worse than what is shown by the figures, saying the council was short handed and enforcement officers had to concentrate on areas such as around markets.

Ngieng said they had less than 10 such enforcement officers.

The situation in coffee shops was equally disturbing.

“Some operators do not provide ash trays in their premises, prompting customers to throw the butts on the floor.

“Let us work together to improve our quality of life by caring for our environment.”