Ipoh City Council (MBI) must distribute free rubbish bins to premises that still do not have them.
Businesses should place their bins in front of their premises and MBI must conduct periodic checks to ensure compliance.
Given the poor attitude of many folk, governmental action against littering and rubbish dumping is very much needed.
Awareness campaigns are not effective.
The long-standing problem is that shop workers indiscriminately throw rubbish bags at road junctions and back alleys during the day.
Many do not utilise bins. Their reasoning is that those sites are routine collection points by rubbish trucks.
Such actions encourage others to carelessly litter or dump rubbish at those sites.
This ruins the cleanliness of Ipoh, creates a public health threat to Ipoh residents and tarnishes the city’s image, especially in the eyes of foreign tourists.
Along with free bins, MBI needs to ensure regular scheduled collections.
This issue must be given high priority for the sake of Ipoh’s public health, environmental cleanliness and general image.
Other crucial actions that can help, include installing more closed-circuit TV cameras at rubbish dumping hotspots and expediting the banning of single-use plastics in Ipoh.
If there’s one thing that leaves a lasting impression on tourists, it is the cleanliness of the cities they visit.
Given how crucial tourism is to our country’s economy and ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026, all local councils should be undertaking these actions as well.
Raveen Veerasenan Jeyakumar
Ipoh
