BUTTERWORTH was once known as the dirtiest town in Malaysia.

It still is, maybe even dirtier than before. That is why I am appealing to the Penang government to do a thorough clean-up of the whole town.

If you drive through the town, you will see rubbish piled up by the roadside. Stray animals scatter the rubbish all over the place. Here and there, you’ll see broken rubbish bins lying by the roadside. The Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) has not bothered to have them replaced.

Most of the cleaning services have been privatised. When a resident complains about the cleanliness of our housing estate, the MPSP informs the contractor, who will send some workers to clean it up. After that, these workers will disappear until you complain again. There is apparently no proper schedule to have the drains cleaned and the grass cut regularly.

Let me give you another example of poor maintenance: the council built a beautiful jogging path by the beach behind Taman Robina. The path was opened more than a year ago. Lately, I noticed fewer and fewer visitors.
The path has been covered with lalang and rubbish. Who is in charge of maintenance here?