OWNERS and the management of a service apartment in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, are appealing to authorities to provide them with rubbish collection service.
Due to its commercial status, the management corporation (MC) of Fortune Perdana Lakeside Residensi is required to appoint its own rubbish collection contractor.
A resident, Sin Chui Ling said rubbish collection for the apartment should be covered by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) through Alam Flora Sdn Bhd.
“As owners, we pay assessment tax to DBKL every year, so we should be eligible for rubbish collection service,” she said when met at the premises.
Former Fortune Perdana Residents Association chairman William Chai said the exclusion of rubbish collection service was unfair to owners of the 576 residential units.
“We acknowledge the remaining 72 shoplots and office units may generate different types and amounts of waste that require a different waste management approach.
“But the residential units should not be excluded from enjoying the service,” Chai said.
According to him, DBKL had rejected the past four attempts by Fortune Perdana MC to get the service.
He said DBKL cited the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management (Scheme for Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Solid Waste) Regulations 2018, where commercial premises are legally responsible for managing their own solid waste.
Fortune Perdana MC building executive Afiq Muzhaffar Wahid said it was currently paying about RM60,000 to a private contractor every year.
“So far we have not increased the maintenance fees to cover waste management,” he said.
Also present were Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) complaints and welfare bureau (central) head Lee Hoi Eng and Kepong PRM chairman Chua Yi Ken.
When contacted by StarMetro, Strata Owners Association Malaysia honorary secretary Kelvin Chong said all joint management bodies and MCs of all strata buildings, be it residential, commercial or mixed, were legally required to appoint their own waste management contractors.
“However, I observed that the implementation on the ground is not uniform.
“Some buildings are still covered by the local authorities, causing confusion.
“Access is also an issue. I have heard cases where Alam Flora was denied access to a building’s refuse chamber due to security reasons.
“There are currently no legal provisions that clearly define the access for rubbish collection concessionaires into the compound of strata buildings,” he said.
Chong urged the authorities to come up with a clear guideline to address the confusion.
“By right, rubbish collection should be covered by the local authorities as the owners pay assessment tax,” he pointed out.
