KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) must relook at the provision of facilities for people in low income areas to avoid any unfortunate and preventable incidents.
Former DBKL Advisory Board member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the death of 15-year-old S. Sathiwaran, after being struck by a chair thrown from the 21st floor of the Seri Pantai People’s Housing Project (PPR) was needless and could be avoided if facilities were better provided.
“If residents are civic-minded, know their responsibilities and respect one another, this would not have happened.
“But I admit there is a need for DBKL to see whether they can provide places for residents to dump their rubbish without having to go down to the ground floor of the building.”
It was speculated that the chair had been thrown by someone aiming to dispose it without leaving their apartment unit.
Lee said there could be reasons why it was difficult for residents to throw rubbish downstairs, such as faulty elevators, so DBKL should look into placing rubbish dumps at every few floors.
“These people are also the 'rakyat', we have to provide them with better facilities.
“There could also be a need to install CCTVs (closed-circuit television) for authorities to monitor the safety conditions of the area and be a deterrent for any potential crimes,” he said.
Lee also stressed the importance of educating the public, especially those in the area, on changing the mentality of littering indiscriminately.
DBKL yesterday said they would install netting at either the lower or upper floors of PPRs to stop passers-by from being hit by thrown objects.
This, Lee said, would not do much as bigger items would come crashing down on the netting and it may even be an invitation for people to throw more things in the future.
Meanwhile, non-governmental association Friends of Kota Damansara chairman Jeffrey Phang said the problem should not be recognised as a single self-containing problem but one riddled with numerous factors.
When elevators are faulty, he said, people are reluctant to take the stairs to throw their rubbish away, resorting to simply chucking it out their window.
“Joint management boards (JMB) and management committees in PPR flats are weak. Local councils should take the leadership role in this problem by budgeting for impactful community capacity-building programmes.
“The Commissioner of Buildings should also be beefed up and ensure JMBs are functioning well.”
Phang, who has seven years of dealing with PPR issues, added that CCTVs could be useful in catching guilty parties and subsequently see that they are vacated from their apartment.
On the soon-to-be installed nettings in PPRs, Phang said JMB must monitor what goes on on each floor after the nettings are put in place, and simultaneously educate the residents on good community values.