KUALA TERENGGANU:FED up with litterbugs who turned the road in front of his house in Kampung Hujung Tanjung into a dumpsite, an architect here decided to let the matter “rest in peace” by building a mock grave at the site.
Architect and businessman Ar Muhammad Nandi Mohamed Ali, 56, said he built a concrete ramp beside the road to house huge waste bins when he moved there in 2012.
‘I realised that there was no rubbish collection area for people around the area, so I built one and the Kuala Terengganu City Council provided the rubbish bins,’ he said.
Although the concrete ramp was damaged during the 2014 major flood, the MBKT rubbish collection there continued without any problem.
However, some people had started dumping bulk trash, such as mattresses and huge piles of used clothes.
‘Passersby rummaged through the piles of used clothes to look for clothes, leaving the site looking like a huge dumpsite. One day, somebody set fire to the used clothes, burning the plastic rubbish bins together with the bulk trash.’
The dumping continued even after MBKT cordoned off the area.Nandi got tired of reminding the litterbugs not to do so whenever he came across them.
‘On Sunday, I hired a backhoe and a lorry to clear the area of rubbish and then built a 2m-long mock grave at the site, complete with tombstones,’ he said.
He said the mock grave was completed at 5pm on Sunday.It has since gone viral on Facebook and was highlighted in the mass media.
‘I spent about RM1,000 for everything, from clearing up the rubbish to the construction of the mock grave. It was worth it because nobody dares to use the area as a dumpsite anymore,’ he said.
However, Nandi does not intend to let the mock grave sit there forever.
‘It is to put people off littering the area.
‘I will demolish it after a few months, when the message has sunk in,’ he said, adding that he rented the tombstones from his neighbour,a tombstone supplier.
Those who think that it would be okay to litter in the area again when the mock grave is no more would be mistaken as Nandi has installed a high-tech deterrent apart from the macabre construction.
‘A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera monitors the area around the clock and any rubbish-dumping caught on camera will be reported to MBKT for action.’
He said he was happy as the CCTV had recorded only motorists stopping by to take pictures of the mock grave.
‘It is a good change to smile at people who stop to take pictures after having to remind litterbugs not to leave their rubbish there.’