Latest news with #SidneySkinner
Daily Express
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Express
City Hall acts on Tanjung Aru road lighting
Published on: Thursday, August 07, 2025 Published on: Thu, Aug 07, 2025 By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: Senior City Hall officers met with the developer's staff at the construction site on Jalan Aru. City Hall will step up efforts to ensure that the road in front of some Tanjung Aru condominiums is properly lit after dark, for the benefit of the many members of the public, including international visitiors, who gather on the First and Second Beach to enjoy the view and watch the sunset. This action follows feedback from a Luyang motorist about the lack of maintenance carried out on the streetlights along the stretch. Advertisement He noticed that many of these amenities were inoperative and was of the opinion that the lack of illumination was hazardous to pedestrians using the pavement on the road shoulder at night. The driver claimed to have witnessed a woman falling into the drain beside the verge while using the stretch on a recent evening. Thankfully, some men, who were going on foot, came to her rescue, according to him. The individual provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding his grievance, which were forwarded to the agency. A spokesman for City Hall's Engineering Department said an inspection was made of Jalan Aru on the same day that it learned about the breakdown of the lights. Advertisement 'A problem with one of our cables on the side of the road was found to have caused the outage,' he said. 'A third party contractor clearing some land here had inadvertently damaged this power line.' Between nine to 10 of the agency's lights, between the Waikiki Condominium and the Kinabalu Yacht Club, were rendered out of order, according to him. He said the contractor was involved with a development coming up along the stretch. 'A discussion was held at the site between the Department's senior officers and the developer's staff at the site later that same morning. 'Our officers even had a look at the architectural plan for the building which was due to be constructed.' He said the company's personnel were asked to be more mindful of the presence of the streetlight fixtures along Jalan Aru to prevent more cables and connections from being impacted by the construction work. 'The contractor's workers immediately set about repairing the damaged cable. 'A second check was carried out later that evening, during which time it was confirmed that the affected streetlights were back in order.' The spokesman urged contractors carrying out major development projects within City Hall's rating area to give the agency advance notice of their activities. 'This will go a long way to minimise any problems related to our assets, including the streetlights, which may inadvertently be caused by such work.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Express
Landowners urged to evict squatter or risk legal action
Published on: Tuesday, August 05, 2025 Published on: Tue, Aug 05, 2025 By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: The smoke generated by the open-burning activities at this squatter colony on the hillside is a source of frustration to others living on Lorong Hen Paya 5. Those with vacant land around the State Capital have been asked be more mindful about the presence of squatters on their property and to deal with such unwanted occupants accordingly. A spokesman for City Hall's Enforcement Department said the onus was on landowners to have the encroachers evicted. 'Property-owners, who can't be bothered chasing out the trespassers, risk being compounded as much as RM500 under our (Building) By-laws 1951 (Amendment 1987),' he said. 'This action can be taken because of the illegal structures, including the shanties, which have come up on their land.' He said legal proceedings could be initiated against repeat offenders. 'If the matter is taken to court and they are found guilty, a fine for as much as RM 5,000 can be imposed on them.' Advertisement 'Those convicted may also find themselves liable to a further fine of RM100 fine for every day during which the offence persists.' The spokesman was responding to feedback about a squatter colony which was forming in the hillside off Mile 3½ Jalan Tuaran. A Likas rate-payer spokeout about the haphazard disposal of the garbage on the slope saying that it was having a negative impact on the wellbeing of condominium-owners at Radiant Maisonette. Many of her neighbours had developed coughs from inhaling the smoke and toxic fumes given off when this waste was openly incinerated, according to her. The individual provided Hotline with the pertinent details which were forwarded to the agency. The spokesman said it was in the process of verifying the goings-on at the undeveloped property beside the condominiums on Lorong Hen Paya 5. 'We have working together with our Valuation Department, and the Lands and Survey Department, to obtain the landowner's details,' he said. 'A letter will be sent to him/ her about what has been transpiring on the vacant land.' Should the individual require, he/ she could request to conduct a joint inspection of the property together with City Hall's Enforcement team. 'If squatters are indeed found to have encroached onto the empty land, then, the owner will have to notify the trespassers to vacate the premises. 'Once the grace-period in these notices has expired, the individual can seek for our help in the clearing of his/ her land.' The spokesman stressed, however, that City Hall, and if need be the Police, could merely oversee any efforts to remove the squatters from the property. 'It is the owner's responsibility to engage a contractor to execute the eviction of the squatters, and demolition of any illegal structures, including houses, from his/ her parcel of land.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
01-08-2025
- Daily Express
Crackdown on littering near Grand Merdeka Mall
Published on: Friday, August 01, 2025 Published on: Fri, Aug 01, 2025 By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: 10 litterbugs, like the one above, were taken to task by SWMD staff in this part of Bandar Sierra Boulevard 1. City Hall is cracking down on those who dispose of their rubbish indiscriminately along the road leading to a Manggatal commercial centre. This action follows feedback about the refuse strewn about near the planter boxes and on the pavement beside the Grand Merdeka Mall. A Manggatal resident bemoaned the bits of litter – including cigarette butts, empty styrofoam food containers and plastic cups – left behind along a section of Bandar Sierra Boulevard 1 by many patrons of the night-market held outside the Mall. The individual provided Hotline with the pertinent details which were forwarded to the agency. A spokesman for its Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) warned that anyone caught throwing their refuse haphazardly on the road-shoulder beside the Mall risked being served with a compound for as much as RM500 under City Hall's Anti-Litter By-Laws 1984 (Amendment 2005). 'We are aware that some nightmarket-goers have the habit of sitting against the planter boxes to enjoy the food and drinks they have bought at the stalls,' he said. 'Others sit in their vehicles to do this. 'Whatever the case, these individuals should dispose of their garbage responsibly in bins and not leave the common area in a mess. 'If they fail to be more civic minded, when it comes to getting rid of their rubbish, and are witnessed littering, then we will not hesitate to take them to task.' He said SWMD officers met with a staff from the Mall's management, who oversees the nightmarket, to discuss what had been transpiring there on Wednesday. 'Our personnel were made to understand that the part of the compound, where the nightmarket is held, is cleaned up daily after the stalls close.' To prove that it means business, City Hall penalised 11 litterbugs during a random check carried out along this part of Bandar Sierra Boulevard 1 between 4.00pm and 8.00pm later that same day. 'We will continue to monitor the goings-on around the road and the Mall from time to time.' He said those who repeatedly disregarded the agency's calls to refrain from littering in the common areas could wind up having legal action taken against them. 'They will become liable to a fine for as much as RM 10,000, if they are found guilty in court.' The spokesman said City Hall had been coming down hard on littering violations in a bid to get the public to take a more active role in keeping its rating-area clean. 'It is not just up to our garbage collectors and street-sweepers to keep the commercial properties around our rating-area looking presentable and pleasing to the eye, especially to the many first time visitors from abroad. 'It is the collective responsibility of everyone who lives, works and frequents these locales.' The agency collected a total of RM1,700 in the on-the-spot compounds from 85 wrongdoers, including those at the Mall, as part of its 'Ops Bersih' in July, according to him. 'The Mall had the most offenders when it came to areas inspected outside the City. 'This was followed by Inanam, where nine errant individuals were nabbed. Six were taken to task around Manggatal.' Between four to five SWMD inspectors in plain clothes carried out 34 separate inspections between July 1 and July 31. Besides Grand Merdeka Mall, Inanam and Manggatal, the Department's team also went to Damai Plaza, Likas Plaza, Mini Putrajaya, Kingfisher Plaza, the Indah Permai shops and the Salut Commercial Centre, according to the spokesman. When it came to the City, he said checks were made around the Bandaran Berjaya shophouses, as well as those around Kg Air and Sinsuran. On top of this, checks were also made of the common areas around Centre Point Sabah and Gaya Street. 'The highest number of litterbugs was nabbed around Centre Point (11), followed by Kg Air (nine) and Bandaran Berjaya (eight).' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
29-07-2025
- General
- Daily Express
Dry taps, murky water in parts of Manggatal: Consumers rely on bottled water, some stay in hotels
Published on: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 Published on: Tue, Jul 29, 2025 By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: The Department's technicians put their backs into installing the sluice valve along Jalan KKIP Selatan. THE Water Department is keeping tabs on the goings-on in Kg Tebobon and Taman Salut Perdana, following feedback about dry taps and the poor quality of the supply in these different parts of Manggatal. A consumer, living in the village, claimed to have gone without water for more than eight days. He and his neighbours had been relying on bottled water just to get by, even before the disruption, owing to the murky quality of their supply. The tap water, at that time, reminded him of a cup of 'Milo O (plain Milo)'. The homeowner, on the other hand, claimed that, since Friday, only the sound of air rushing through the pipes could be heard when she turned on her taps. She was forced to put up in a hotel in the town, just so that she and her family, including her primary-aged kids, could use the toilet and shower. The affected individuals provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding their grievances. This information was forwarded to the agency. A Department spokesman said a damaged main distribution pipe was to blame for the water woes in Kg Tebobon. 'The Mid-Steel-Cement-Lined (MSCL) mains, with a 1,200millimetre diameter, looked as if had become 'uzur (worn down)',' he said. 'The pipe was most likely laid beneath the verge years ago.' He said the agency's technicians began attending to the pipe at the base of the Telipok flyover at 9.00pm on Thursday. This work was complicated because the supply-line was buried more than 10 metres beneath the road shoulder, according to him. He said an excavator was deployed to facilitate efforts to reach, repair and weld the affected section of the pipe. He said the operations at its Telibong II Treatment Plant had to be temporarily shutdown to accommodate the repairs which were completed in the wee hours of Friday. A total of 96million litres of treated water was produced daily at the Plant under normal circumstances, according to him. The Department issued a notice on Thursday at 1.00pm, which was circulated over social media, to alert consumers in parts of Manggatal and Inanam about the loss of their tap water. Besides Kg Tebobon, the other rural communities which felt the pinch included Kg Gudon, Kg Rampayan, Kg Darau, Kg Warisan and Kg Kalansanan. Unit-owners at Taman Flamingo, Taman Gudon, Taman Puri Warisan, Taman Bakti Ikhlas and Taman Inanam Laut were also not spared. On the poor quality of the supply to the village, he said the agency would arrange to have the mains, servicing the rural community there, flushed. 'This will be done to minimise the presence of sediment in the water coming from taps at homes here.' Where Taman Salut Perdana was concerned, the spokesman said were triggered when the agency switched the supply for Manggatal and Inanam from its Moyog Water Treatment Plant, according to him. 'Since the second week of July, we stopped the direct tapping from Moyog and began using a new line from Phase II of our Telibong Plant. 'Some unforeseen teething problems have arisen because of this switch.' He said the agency was in the midst of testing the new connection. 'A sluice valve was installed along Jalan KKIP Selatan on Friday, near the junction leading to the Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic to resolve the teething problems in Taman Salut Perdana.' A notice about this work was issued over social media at 10.00pm the night before, according to him. 'We wanted to forewarn the affected consumers to stock up water and to use their reserves sparingly for the duration of the installation effort.' On top of Taman Salut homeowners, these included those living and working in the KKIP North, the Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic, the Polytechnic Commercial Centre, Taman Bukit Sepanggar, Taman Melawa, Taman Sri Gayang, Sri Gayang Apartments, Kg Lapasan, the Intan Sabah Campus, Taman Indah Permai, Sri Maju Apartments and the Bukit Setia area. The spokesman said it generally took between two to three days for some consumers to recover properly from a disruption. He said this was especially so if their premises was located on higher ground or towards the end of the Department's distribution-line. 'Our technicians checked on the pipes leading to random meters around Kg Tebobon and Taman Salut Perdana yesterday, after learning what had been transpiring at both locations. 'They cleared any airlocks which had formed in the supply-line and confirmed that water was reaching the meters. 'The water pressure, in this instance, was deemed to be acceptable.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
18-07-2025
- Daily Express
Council tackles illegal dumping at Kimanis Centro, overgrown trees
Published on: Friday, July 18, 2025 Published on: Fri, Jul 18, 2025 By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: Council's workers put their backs into removing the piles of bagged waste near the pump-house. The District Council is trying to prevent illegal garbage dumps from springing up at a commercial centre, off kilometre 15 Jalan Papar-Beaufort. The agency will also step up efforts to maintain the greenery growing on verges under its jurisdiction, including those in the Kinarut area. Advertisement This follows feedback about the rubbish piling up on some vacant land near one part of Kimanis Centro, as well as the overgrown trees along Jalan Mook and Jalan Kinarut Town. A shop-owner bemoaned his inability secure a renter as most of his potential tenants were put off by the mess on the undeveloped land beside his unit. A Kinarut driver, on the other hand, was unhappy about the bamboo groves on the road shoulders around the town. The motorist said some of the bamboo stems had become so long that they could almost touch of vehicles passing underneath. These individuals related their observations separately to Hotline. Their grievances were forwarded to the agency. A Council spokesman said an inspection was made of Kimanis Centro, shortly after it was contacted by the media. 'Our staff confirmed the presence of bagged waste strewn about in different places on the undeveloped land outside the fence of the sewerage pump-house for the property,' he said. He said a team of workers armed with rakes, brooms and spades cleared the refuse a few hours later. An open truck was deployed to facilitate their effort according to him. The spokesman said a sign was later put up to deter litterbugs from continuing to dirty the empty land. 'Anyone caught red handed will initially be slapped with a compound for as much as RM500, under the Uniform (Anti-Litter) By-Laws 2010. 'Repeat offenders, and those who are hard headed, run the risk being penalised legally.' He said the wrongdoers could find themselves RM20,000 poorer, if they were found guilty in court. This was the maximum fine which could be imposed under the By-Laws, according to him. 'Alternatively, they may be required to serve a jail-term of up to one year, or both.' The spokesman was under the impression that 'outsiders' had taken to discarding their refuse near the pump-house. He said a check of its records revealed that there been no breakdown in the Council's collection service. 'Our staff go from shop to shop once a day to remove the garbage generated by each business.' When asked whether a bin-centre could be constructed for the commercial centre, he said the Council was reluctant to have such an amenity put up as it would most likely to be abused by the 'outsiders'. The Council's Enforcement Division had been apprised about what had been transpiring at Kimanis Centro, according to the spokesman. 'Our officers will keep an eye on the commercial centre from time to time to try and nab anyone who disposes of their rubbish indiscriminately.' Where the overgrown bamboo trees on Jalan Mook and Jalan Kinarut Town were concerned, he said the agency would have to determine whether these stretches had been included in its road register. 'Should this prove to be the case, then a preliminary inspection will be made to sort out the details of the tree-pruning effort we will have to make.' He said the greenery growing on those road reserves under the Council's care were not maintained according to a fixed schedule. 'Given the extensiveness of our rating area and a lack of manpower, we are unable to trim the overgrown greenery on a regular basis. 'The trees on our verges are tended to as and when it becomes necessary to do so.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
