‘Officers’ to nab litterbugs

SS,Sunday 2 October 2011

I refer to “Make litterbugs clean up their act, says Ng” (The Star, Sept 27) and agree that drastic measures are needed to arrest the country’s decline in cleanliness.

It is true that the Tourism Ministry cannot do everything on its own as enforcement and maintenance is under the jurisdiction of the respective local authorities.

However, community service as punishment should only be introduced if fines alone do not deter people from littering.

As it is, the problem is enforcement. Not only is it grossly lacking, it is non-existent in most places.

If conforming to established local practice is not an issue, the most efficient method to keep our streets clean is to combine the jobs of enforcement officer with road sweeper.

Enforcement officers can be scorned or respected by the public depending on how they discharge their duties, while road sweepers work hard for low wages.

However, in developed societies, there is minimal difference in education and income between office and field workers. Their productivity, innovation and income are much higher than those in developing countries.

If salaries are increased in Malaysia without raising productivity and innovation, we will be back to square one with the corresponding rise in inflation.

I propose that the local authorities hire “Street Officers” who’d be responsible for specific zones. They are to be on the lookout for litterbugs and issue summons to those caught for littering.

They are to be good role models by picking up litter on the streets and arrange for more dustbins at strategic locations and getting piles of rubbish removed.

They also monitor the work of road sweepers and coordinate with various agencies on matters such as faulty street and traffic lights, potholes, uncovered and clogged drains, stagnant pools, rats and mosquito infestation, road-kill carcasses, illegal advertising such as stickers and banners, missing or covered road signs, blocking of parking lots and five-foot ways, jaga keretas, beggars, indiscriminate dumping, uncollected garbage, poor conditions of public amenities and the list goes on.

In short, report all “broken windows” that need to be fixed and check the deterioration of the neighbourhood.

These “Street Officers” should be assigned different zones every month. After a year, their performance can be accurately gauged and the better ones swiftly promoted.

In fact, this job is the best training ground for our future leaders. As such, graduates with good communications skills should be hired for the job. They will learn more about people and life in this “University of Life” than any institute of higher learning.

They will pick up people skills such as being firm but courteous, observant and friendly. They will learn to write intelligent reports with original content instead of ‘copy & paste’ or plagiarizing..

For the talented and ambitious, this job can pave the way that will ultimately lead them to take charge of town or city councils or serve as people’s representatives in the State Assembly or Parliament.

To kick off, fresh graduates picked as “Street Officers” would have to be shown the ropes by retired but active government officers for the first few months until they are more confident and independent.

Concerned senior citizens would be happy to team up with these fresh recruits and patrol our streets. The pay for contract staff may not be much but many will take up the opportunity to serve as their personal social responsibility.

YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur