KOTA KINABALU: A proposal to privatise garbage collecting will be considered by the Local Government and Housing Ministry to overcome cleanliness problems in the state.
Its Minister Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor said the qualification and eligibility of the companies would also be taken into consideration.
“However, this all will also depend on the financial ability of its respective local authorities,” he said in responding to a question by Sulabayan assemblyman Datuk Harman Mohammad during the Question and Answer Session at the state assembly sitting, yesterday.
Earlier, Hajiji responded to a question from Sekong assemblyman Datuk Samsudin Yahya on efforts by the local authorities to overcome cleanliness issues, adding that the ministry would take steps and find solutions to the problems.
“One of its efforts was through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on Oct 15 last year to implement the Anti Litterbug Campaign. Before we campaign on group clean-up this year, we have decided to catch litterbugs and take necessary action against them,” he said.
The ministry is also working closely with UiTM to organise the Train the Trainers course which is attended by local authorities, non-governmental organisations, business operators, district officers, and community leaders, to mention some.
He, however, stressed that collaboration from all parties and public awareness play the most important role in ensuring the success of the environment cleanliness campaign.