A MOTHER�S RANTING ON MOSQUITOES AND LRT

Wednesday, 30 January 2008

A MOTHER�S RANTING ON MOSQUITOES AND LRT

By a Subang Lass

This mother is unhappy with the powers are subjecting her babies to unhealthy elements.

I nearly missed the deadline this month. I had a whole month to do it. But I am an adrenaline junkie. So I had to wait until the very last minute. I get my best ideas with Mr. Editor breathing down my neck and reminding me every few seconds about the impending deadline. As Murphy’s Law would have it, I caught a fever a few days before D-day, and a bad one that is.

But Mr. Editor is a tough one. He insists that I write my piece. Even on my death bed I should record my article and let hubby transcribe it. I’ll remember that next month, Mr. Editor.

So as I write this piece, I am under my blanket with a 40 degree fever. I haven’t seen a GP yet, because the fever is not yet three days old. I know they’ll just give me paracetamols, and if the fever doesn’t subside by the fourth day, to go back and get tested for dengue. I don’t need to be an MD to know that.

Anyway, this fever scares me. This is the second time in a month I am getting a high fever. For someone who usually gets a fever like once a year, this is really scary. Plus I am a hypochondriac. Compound this with the fact that my kids are also playing tag among themselves with the fever. The moment one gets better, another one will get it. I guess this time I’m it.

And to make matters worse, three people in my immediate vicinity have been tested positive for dengue fever. Now, how in the world could this have happened? We live in a nice neighbourhood, not some overcrowded kongsi or squatter area. It’s clean, and those chaps who contracted dengue have lawns neater than a golf course. We don’t throw our garbage everywhere. And the garbage disposal people are very efficient in collecting our trash. I don’t think there is a dumpster in our surrounding area. And as far as I know, there are no clogged drains either. The heavy rain and lack of floods is testament to this.

So what I am saying is this, where are these Aedes mosquitoes coming from? There are no places for them to breed.

So, my untrained and unsubstantiated lay person opinion is that it could be coming from the construction areas. They are building a highway at the Kewajipan roundabout. I pass by it everyday, but have never been inside the construction site. Like I said, it is my untrained and unsubstantiated opinion. A mother’s ranting, you may call it. So don’t come suing me, Mr. Highway Concessionaires. I don’t have any money anyway.

Anyway, construction sites are a haven for mosquito breeding. With the constant heavy rain lately, water get trapped every where.

Maybe this construction site is different. Maybe this Mr. Highway Concessionaire takes the pain to ensure that the entire stretch of the site is puddle free. Maybe. I don’t know. I am just ranting. But I do know that my neighbours who caught the dengue fever have compounds so clean that you can eat off their driveway. Not that I recommend it though. They would not be too happy having strangers eating nasi lemak off their driveway.

I heard that MPSJ has launched a zero dengue campaign. I laud the council’s intentions. But I hope that the campaign extends beyond the hoo-hah of the launch and the posters and the orange T-Shirt. I have yet to see any posters or anyone in the said orange T-Shirt in my neighbourhood, so I don’t know what the posters say.

But posters alone would not address the problem. I wonder what the posters say; maybe it is a warning to all Aedes mosquitoes to stay out of our area. Wait, mosquitoes can’t read, so the posters most probably have some message about prevention steps that the residents can take.

Sadly, like mosquitoes, some people can’t read. I’d like to think that they can’t, because the alternative would be that they can, but just won’t. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but whatever their reasons, their apathy could be costing more lives.

Nevertheless, no matter how many posters are put up, they would be to no avail if they are just a publicity stunt. Like I said, the people in my neighbourhood are already keeping the area as clean as possible. What more can we do? Keep our kids in the house on a 24/7 basis? Spray insecticides every half hour?

More needs to be done to eradicate the breeding area surrounding the vicinity. The residents have done their part in keeping their own area clean. They can’t be tasked to keep the entire municipality clean. That’s your job Mr. MPSJ. There’s no use constantly fogging our area if the mosquitoes keep breeding someplace else and coming back.

Now I hear they are going to start building an LRT track through SS14. So we can expect more construction.

Again, this mother rants about the effect that the construction would have on her children. More digging, more places for mosquitoes to breed. And the dust would certainly bring my son to SJMC more often for his nebulizers.

Unless of course, Mr. LRT Builder is kind enough to wrap up their entire building construction in a big giant bubble so that the dust and mosquitoes and noise will be contained within the construction site. I know this idea is far fetched, in fact, put in a giant octopus to hold on to the bubble, it would sound like an idea coming from Higgly Town Heroes. But unless they can contain the noise and dust and other hazardous pollutants, this construction would certainly be unwelcomed.

I am no wet blanket. I welcome the idea of extending the LRT line from Kelana Jaya to Subang Jaya and USJ. But a poll should be made on who actually uses the LRT. I fear that the LRT in SS14 would only serve people from Shah Alam, Klang and other surrounding areas, at the expense of the SS14 people.

I know I sound selfish. But I am a mother and I am entitled to rant, especially when it comes to the well-being of my babies. I have been in SS14 for more than 20 years. This place has always been tranquil and peaceful. The neighbourhood is safe because it is contained. It is an ideal place to raise a family.

With an LRT passing through it, we would be robbed of this tranquillity. People from all over would come to our area and park their vehicles to board the LRT. It would not be a safe neighbourhood anymore with people coming and going at all hours. If we had wanted the hustle and bustle of city life we would have moved to the heart of KL. But we choose to live in tranquillity. We like the quiet pace here. So we stay put in SS14, some, like my family, for over 20 years.

Now, this idyllic life will be shattered, and most probably not even for our benefit. It might benefit residents in surrounding areas, but like I said, I am selfish. And to preserve the quality of life as I know it for my children, I am entitled to be selfish.

So to MPSJ, Mr. LRT Builder, Dato’ Lee and all the powers that be, I start my ranting with dengue and end it with the proposed LRT. But the message is the same; SS14 is an ideal place to raise a family. Please, please, please keep it that way.

(Note to readers: I am prone to exaggeration. Mr. Editor is actually a nice sweet fellow… like a kitten in fact).