Wong Mian Kim, who heads the resident’s association for Block 45-54, said the clean-up did not resolve the root cause of the problem, which is that of “outsiders” coming to dump waste there.
He said it was hard to keep the area clean because it is not gated, so outsiders are still able to “come and go as they please”.
There are 88 housing blocks at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, comprising 952 flats, dating back 40 years or more.
“What the government did does not solve the root cause of the problem.”
“There is no proper place for the people (outside the estate) to throw away rubbish, so this causes people to dump their rubbish everywhere,” he told FMT, adding that some residents do not have any hygiene standards.
Wong said there were other problems too, such as safety, leaking pipes and a lack of parking spaces.
He said the management was suffering, burdened with uncollected management fees because most owners rented out their flats. The management could only send a reminder letter to owners about their arrears, he said.
“The only way to clear the overdue fees is when an owner wants to sell the house, he or she will need to clear the fees first. If they have not (paid the fees), they cannot get the title deed,” he said.
Marina Ibrahim, the state assembly member for Skudai, said the place is full of solid waste because there is no functioning relationship between the joint management body and the community, again due to unpaid fees.
“I hope all the residents, whether owner or tenant, will be responsible,” she told FMT. The maintenance fee ranges from RM15 to RM30 per month, depending on the management body responsible for the block.
However, the arrears at one flat had accumulated to over RM1 million, she said.
Marina said she had several discussions with Iskandar Puteri City Council mayor Haffiz Ahmad regarding the rejuvenation plan for the low-cost flat area, which will be carried out jointly by the council and the local government development ministry.
The plan is supposed to include repairs to the roof, piping system, wiring, and drains, and repainting of the building, all to be completed in phases.
On Friday, local government development minister Nga Kor Ming said approximately 90 tonnes of bulk waste were collected, while 50 wheelie bins were replaced and a further 449 were repaired.