Dato Andrew Wong
SIBU: Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) is trying its best to trace owners of some 200 abandoned houses here.
SMC deputy chairman Dato Andrew Wong said yesterday that these houses had always posed a possible health hazard.
“There are over 200 abandoned houses in Sibu, most of which are concentrated in Bukit Assek area,” he told The Borneo Post.
“Thus far, not many owners have been identified because they are not reachable. Perhaps they have already migrated overseas.
“Abandoned houses will always pose a possible health hazard, which is why we are looking into this matter seriously,” Wong said.
He was asked if the council was tracing owners of abandoned houses to clean up the premises.
Asked if SMC had meted out legal action, he revealed they had acted on a few.
“We have already taken legal action against a few house owners,” he said.
On Wednesday’s full council meeting, the issue of abandoned houses was brought up.
SMC Public Health, Environment and Municipal Services standing committee chairperson Rhoda Ting had disclosed that there were suggestions from councillors to clear up these premises for fear they became Aedes mosquito breeding grounds and other unwanted activities.
Ting admitted that there was difficulty in locating the owners of these houses to get them to act.
There was also the question of who would bear the costs if the exercise to clear up the place went ahead, given the many abandoned houses here.
Recently, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam was reported to have said that abandoned houses and idle land were the biggest contributors to Aedes mosquito breeding grounds which led to the spread of dengue in the country.
According to the state Health Department’s statistics, 1,739 dengue cases were reported in Sarawak from January to Nov 12 this year against 1,820 cases for the same period last year.
Its director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan told The Borneo Post that a cumulative 936 dengue cases were reported here in the same period; an increase of 17 per cent from 803 cases last year.
“However, as of now, dengue cases in Sibu are stable and under control with activities intensified to try slow down the increase,” Dr Zulkifli added.
Meanwhile, work was being carried out on the multi-storey car park at Wong Nai Siong Road.
Wong said the council was making repairs to the roof of the car park.
He pointed out that the roof was leaking, necessitating repairs.