MALAYSIA: Litterbugs from Indonesia and Pakistan joined two others, including one from Singapore, in cleaning the Dataran Merdeka, the spot where the country declared its freedom from Britain in 1957.
This time, the country is reclaiming its freedom from littering, which was a common sight across Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere.
The four performed community service, and it marked the first such disciplinary action under amended laws enforcing public cleanliness across the country.
From now on, there will be no more leniency towards the public or tourists who used to just throw away their cigarette butts or drinking cans in street corners.
Incidentally, the four were caught discarding cigarette butts in public places on New Year’s Eve. They will be completing the minimum duration of four hours of community service, as ordered by the court.
They were among 15 offenders across five states serving mandatory cleaning duties. Some 742 notices have been issued since January, and there are 500 officers deployed to monitor hotspots.
To strengthen surveillance, the organisation responsible for the monitoring against litterbugs, Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp), said it is considering the deployment of surveillance drones.
Nevertheless, in some parts of the country, beer bottles or food wrappers can still be seen in parks or on some street corners.
But the public is assured that enforcement is taking place, and sooner or later, the usual suspects will get caught.
Once caught, they will go through the process under the law and will end up sweeping the streets, collecting trash and cleaning drains in public places.
