Thursday, November 15, 2012

Local Councils and Resource Allocation

One of my favourite past times is to makan angin by taking drives to the fringes of the urban centres. To me, this is where the real Malaysians live. It is where the real Malaysia exists.

The obvious thing that one notices when driving away from the city centres or town centres is that the roads and road shoulders get progressively ramshackle and unkempt.

Rubbish is strewn and heaped in untidy piles. Undergrowth is rampant and way too wild. Stray dogs forage openly.

It is not a pretty sight.

But, this is where many, many Malaysians live; in the fringes of urban centres.

Why aren't Local Councils allocating more resources to maintain these fringe areas?

It is obvious that fringe areas are less densely populated. It is clear that this is where the working class Malaysians live. It is noticeable that these are localities where automotive chop shops, recycling yards, light industrial activities have found their place.

In short, these fringe areas do not contribute as much assessment as the buildings and structures in the urban centres.

That said, Local Councils cannot discriminate against fringe areas. This is irresponsible.

I am quite convinced that if Local Councils allocate more resources to maintain street lighting, collect rubbish more frequently, clean up the illegal rubbish heaps, cut the undergrowth and used mechanised sweepers to sweep away debris and loose gravel from road shoulders, residents in these fringe areas will see that being civic-minded is beneficial. 

This will create a virtuous cycle.

Local Councils must stop the discrimination of fringe areas in favour of urban centres.

1 comment:

walla said...

A clean federal government will not have to take and squander more of the contributions by state governments to the national coffer. The state governments will then have more funds for their state councils to spend on upkeep of grounds and facilities.

It is when a federal government is corrupt and corrupting and corruptible that citizens become contemptuous of any chance to improve their lot wherever they live and work.

A corrupt federal government will want to shore its own survival by spending state contributions at only places where it can showcase its rule as if doing so suffices to justify its continuation with the result it marginalizes suburban dwellers away from having national pride of life and removes from them one of the most important attributes of a growing nation - the ability of citizens to identify and work towards higher and better standards in everything. Including their mind and heart processes.

Many events, new and recurring, have shown these processes have only been blighted, moribund and parochial. Thus the couldn't-care-less-anymore mentality.

This is already the 21st century. If one has to mention a nettlesome need to find more funds to spruce up places where citizens work and live, then that aforementioned mentality residual from corrupting influences has shackled and will continue to shackle right-minded and meaningful development.

In this new century already replete with nexuses of contending market and social forces, no state can afford the luxury of neglecting and thus repeating such failures.