PUTRAJAYA: Construction sites identified as mosquito breeding grounds will face a two-week closure, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam.
He said such stern action beginning yesterday, was being taken, following implementation of the ‘Ops Gempur Tapak Binaan’ operation in the Klang Valley since last month after finding that ‘problematic’ construction sites became breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquitoe.
To date, 71 construction sites have been identified as Aedes mosquito breeding grounds and they have been ordered to close for seven days, he said.
“We will not hesitate to ask them to close for two weeks. Two-week closure will (cause them to) lose a lot of money. It is much cheaper to fog the areas and kill the mosquitoes,” he told reporters after chairing the ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting here yesterday.
He said developers and contractors must show evidence that clean-up works had taken place before they were allowed to re-open the site.
To address the dengue threat, Dr Subramaniam said a similar operation would be carried out at factories, especially in areas with an increase in the number of dengue cases recorded although they were not as high as those at construction sites.
On action taken against abandoned construction sites, Dr Subramaniam said the local authorities could perform the clean-up works and the cost borne by the landowners.
Meanwhile, he said there were 19,353 Malaysians awaiting organ donations as of Jan 31.
Of the figure, 19,329 were kidney patients.
Other patients who were on the waiting list for organs in Malaysia included nine liver patients, seven lung patients, six heart patients and two patients with heart and lung problems.
“The number of new organ donors is increasing annually. In 2006, there were 10,081 new donors who were registered and this number has increased.
“As of Jan 31, the number of Malaysians who have pledged to donate their organs after death stands at 289,303 people, representing only 0.9 per cent of the total number of Malaysian citizens,” noted the minister.
Dr Subramaniam said he, and other members of the ministry’s top management had vowed to become organ donors, in conjunction with the ministry’s launch of the ‘Let’s Pledge’ programme.
The programme aims to provide a basic understanding of organ donation to all ministry staff to raise awareness on its importance. — Bernama