Several matters were raised on the fifth day of the 20th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday. Among them was the allocation of funds to repair bridges at Kampong Ayer and the construction of concrete bridges, raised by LegCo member Yang Berhormat Amran bin Haji Maidin.
The LegCo member believes the repair and construction of bridges will benefit both the residents as well as tourists, while calling for focus to be turned to jetties, which are in desperately in need of repair.
Minister of Home Affairs Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ahmaddin bin Haji Abdul Rahman responding said the concrete bridge project has been one of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) long-term plans to bring convenience to water villagers.
Yang Berhormat Awang Amran also raised the issue of safety among village heads during the old pension and welfare distribution period, as some expressed uneasiness to have a large amount of cash in their possession. He asked if there is an initiative in the works to address such a matter.
The minister said the ministry has collaborated with a security agency to provide penghulus and village heads with bags.
“So far, 10 bags have been distributed and more will be handed out in the near future,” he said, adding that group insurance has also been provided to the community leaders.
Meanwhile, LegCo member Yang Berhormat Haji Mohamad Danial @ Tekpin bin Ya’akub called for government buildings, such as community halls, to be upgraded with security features using the latest technologies, in light of the government incurring huge expenses due to incidents of theft and pickpocketing.
He believes that such a move would be cost effective in the long run, especially if the technologies adopted are not maintenance free, to which the minister said is an idea worth exploring with district offices.
The LegCo member also suggested the drafting of short-, medium- and long-term strategic plans by the MoHA to ensure an effective sanitation system that aligns with the direction of urban development and climate change initiatives while imposing anti-littering laws to keep public spaces clean.
The minister, in response, said municipal departments do actively promote urban environmental cleanliness under their jurisdictions, and shared that there are plans to introduce the use of high-tech vacuum pumps for urban cleaning in the future. – Lyna Mohamad
