KOTA KINABALU: Public cooperation and input are needed as local authorities continue to face issues of vandalism, cable theft and rubbish among many other things in the city.
Mayor Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah (pic) said as much as the City Hall was finding ways to address these problems, they continue to persist with limited manpower and budget.
Citing an example, he said the stretch of road from Kota Kinabalu city to Telipok was a vandalism hotspot, with cables and wires from street lamps getting cut off and even stolen.
He said huge budgets are needed to fix these problems and remain hopeful that plans to install CCTV cameras at hotspot areas will be realised by this year.
“We are working with the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to install CCTVs and we are also asking for a budget to set up our command centre to monitor recordings and other matters,” said Sabin when receiving a courtesy call from the Kota Kinabalu Journalists Association committee members here Monday (Feb 9).
As for perennial issues such as rubbish, litterbugs and congestion, he said efforts were ongoing including increasing summonses and enforcement on the ground.
These things, he said, would take time to solve, especially to educate and change the people’s habits.
“We welcome suggestions on how to improve the city’s image, its cleanliness, beauty and economic growth,” Sabin said.
Sabin also voiced concern over the increasing number of extended water villages at Gaya Island.
“There is only one gazetted village but there are many extensions. We need to find a solution for this as well,” he added.
