NGA: NEW LAW TO ADDRESS LITTERING TO BE TABLED NEXT YEAR

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- A new bill to introduce community service for repeat litterbug offenders in an effort to address the issue of irresponsible littering will be tabled in Parliament next year, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

He said the government is in the process of drafting the bill.

Nga said the time has come for the country to take seriously the issue of littering everywhere because it has long been a problem among the people and needs to be dealt with immediately.

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"It is now the era of social media, so we need to take care of cleanliness… If foreign tourists come here and upload on TikTok, then our country’s name will be affected... they (laws) have been introduced and successfully implemented for years in many developed nations,” he said in a press conference after the Pre-Launch Ceremony of the Malaysia Cleanup Day Celebration 2024 here today.

"Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we give a good impression and image for our beloved nation to them (foreigners)."

He said Malaysia expects the arrival of 35 million tourists, who will generate RM147 billion from tourism activities following the organisation of the international events.

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Previously, Nga was reported to have said that the ministry was studying to amend the Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171) to include a section related to punishment for offenders who litter everywhere.

Meanwhile, Nga said his ministry is collaborating with the Federal Territories Department (JWP) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to organise 'Malaysia Cleanup Day: Mega Cleaning’ programme at Pasar Seni in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

He said in conjunction with this event, 156 local authorities (PBT) nationwide will also organise simultaneous gotong-royong to raise public awareness of the problem of illegal waste disposal sites that are becoming more prevalent and the importance of reducing the production of waste.

"Apart from the cleaning works, three records will be created or broken in The Malaysia Book of Records, namely the largest number of simultaneous entries nationwide, heaviest amount of solid household waste collected, and the longest duration of gotong-royong of 12 hours," he also said.

Nga added that the Malaysia Cleanup Day targets the involvement of various levels of society including school students, concession companies, the People's Housing Programme (PPR) community, PRIMA Homes community, as well as all ministries and strategic partners.

-- BERNAMA