KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — A heated session unfolded in the Dewan Rakyat sitting today when Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) accused Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming of lying about the 20 tonnes of rubbish collected after Saturday’s Turun Anwar rally.
However, Nga clarified the figure was based on a report by SWCorp.
He said the government respects the Federal Constitution and upholds democratic principles by allowing peaceful assemblies, but such gatherings must be conducted in an orderly manner, including maintaining cleanliness.
“This includes maintaining cleanliness, and I was criticising unhygienic behaviour. I never said YB Pendang was the one who littered … the 20 tonnes of rubbish mentioned did not come from me. That figure was from the SWCorp report I received. Hundreds of our workers had to be mobilised to clean up the rubbish left behind after the black shirt rally,” he said.
Yesterday, Nga reportedly said 20 tonnes of rubbish was collected after the rally, adding that cleanup was carried out until 3.30am.
Meanwhile, Nga said 23 non-sanitary landfills have been safely closed under the Non-Sanitary Landfill Closure and Rehabilitation Plan, adding that another 155 open dumping sites will be closed in phases throughout the 13th Malaysia Plan period.
He said the Housing and Local Government Ministry, through the National Solid Waste Management Department, is prioritising a progressive transformation, from non-sanitary landfills, to sanitary landfills equipped with leachate treatment plants, which function to treat the landfill liquid waste.
He added that the ministry has introduced a reuse approach for closed landfill sites by conducting rehabilitation efforts to ensure they are safe before developing them into public spaces, such as Lestari Parks, solar farms, and community facilities, thereby benefiting the local community.
“One example of a successful Lestari Park pilot project is the former landfill site at Felda Bandar Tenggara, which had previously held over 360,000 metric tonnes of waste since 1999.
“Today, spanning 7.56ha, it has been transformed into a recreational park with a stroller garden concept, featuring attractively designed landscape elements as well as environmental rehabilitation components for the former landfill site,” he said.
He was responding to a question from Manndzri Nasib (BN-Tenggara) on the ministry’s actions to address issues of odour and water pollution frequently caused by poorly managed landfill sites.
— Bernama
