CLEAN UP OR BE CLEARED OUT

IMAGINE cockroaches dropping down your blouse, crawling up your pants and rats the size of kittens scampering around every time you walk around in SS15.
For months now, that’s the common experience many residents and visitors to Subang Jaya’s busy business district have been going through, be it day or night.
But that may be a thing of the past, especially now with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council issuing the ultimatum to food operators and business owners in SS15 to clean up their act and to stop “feeding” the pests with their indiscriminate disposal of food waste and rubbish.
Early last Thursday morning, two MPSJ councilors Keshminder Singh and Theresa Ratnam Thong, accompanied by ADUN Subang Jaya Hannah Yeoh supervised the first exercise to fumigate manholes and drains in SS15.

“Those who do not cooperate with MPSJ will have their premises sealed. If food outlets receive a maximum of three compounds from the council, they will have their premises sealed and may even have their business shut down.”
“Clean up or be cleared out,” Theresa said, just after brushing off a cockroach which landed on her.
Keshminder stressed that the council was serious in tackling this problem.
“Our target is to tackle this problem within 6 months from now. By then, we should be able to reduce the rats and cockroaches numbers by 50%.”
“We will hold everyone responsible to keep this menace in check,” he said.
Theresa said the council would look for corporate partners to source for some financial assistance to tackle the problem, specifically to forge joint ventures to destroy the pests.
“We need to resolve this fast. It’s a health problem. What will the public be consuming when they eat in dirty premises infested with rats and cockroaches?”
“The cockroaches are everywhere!” she exclaimed.
Hannah said she would present the issue to the State Assembly which is expected to sit again on November 9.
“I will ask for allocations to help us tackle this issue as well as dengue.”
“Stricter enforcement is needed. We have received a proposal from Alam Flora to carry out rubbish collection twice a day in SS15. This will help us reduce the presence of rubbish left out in the open,” she said, adding that if adopted, it would cost MPSJ more funds.
What should people do in the meantime?
All three agreed that people should avoid dirty eateries in SS15 or anywhere else in Subang Jaya.
Have you encountered problems with rats and cockroaches? Drop us a line at editor@sjecho.com.my.