KUCHING: Sarawak needs more allocations from the federal government to open up new landfills.Minister of Environment and Public Health Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said the state presently has 47 landfills, most of which are almost at their limit.
“Most of the old landfills are near longhouses and residence of the natives here, and this has posed some problems. Waste water leaks from the rubbish in the landfill, flow into drains and eventually pollute the rivers.
“This would pose a problem to residents living near the landfills who still depend on rivers for water,” Wong said during the presentation of grants to local authorities on Thursday.
He said financial aid from the federal government is needed to open up new landfills and develop a better way to dispose of rubbish.
The new landfills would be equipped with modern technology to manage waste more effi-ciently so as to preserve the environment and ecosystem.
He thanked the federal government and Ministry of Housing and Local Government for allocating an annual grant of RM28,298,991.63 to 26 local authorities in the state.
He said the local authorities need the grant as the state covers an extensive area of 124,449.5 sq km spread over 11 divisions and divided into 31 districts.
“Because the state is so big and the population segregated throughout the state, local authorities are having difficulty in funding to develop infrastructures and serve the people. The allocation would be used to pay wages, transportation as well as other services.
“I believe the grant would help local authorities serve the people better,” said Wong.