‘Fight rat menace with efficient garbage collection’

Source: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/836614 (22/9/2013)

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 22, 2013): A member of Parliament today voiced out the need for an efficient garbage disposal system to rid the city of rats, which is especially urgent as Visit Malaysia Year 2014 is less than four months away.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng pointed out that this year alone, 2,925 leptospirosis cases have been recorded, resulting in 28 deaths.

"This is a very alarming figure and shows that the rat menace is getting worse," he said in a statement today.

He also pointed out the confusion over the disparate figures released by essentially the same authority.

On the one hand, Kuala Lumpur City Hall's Health and Environment Department director said there were 6.8 million rats in a Sept 12 newspaper report, while the city mayor was reported to have said a week later that there were eight million.

"Does the huge difference of 1.2 million rats mean two different methodologies were used in the rat census, or does it mean that KL rats are tops in the world for being super-productive?" he asked.

Regardless, Lim said, it showed that the city has a serious rat problem.

He urged the relevant authorities to also educate the public on proper garbage disposal as well as the dangers of leptospirosis, and the importance of cooperating with the authorities in maintaining cleanliness of the environment.