KOTA KINABALU: The relevant authorities, the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) especially, should pay serious attention to address the great nuisance and hazards posed by abandoned houses in the city, said Gee Tien Siong, vice president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).
He pointed out that these abandoned houses are not only an eyesore, but also a breeding ground for disease carrying pests and poisonous snakes, but also a potential fire hazard, especially during the dry season.
He urged this after conducting a site inspection on an abandoned property located in Taman Milek Phase One, in Luyang here, recently, after receiving complaints from the nearby residents, that the said property which had been left unoccupied and unattended to for many years, is full of undergrowth and has been posing a great nuisance and hazard to their well-being.
One of the affected residents, Mrs Ma, who lives next to the said property, even expressed grave concern that it might attract some ‘vicious spirits’ to take possession of the place. She also recalled that during the drought season early last year, a bushfire broke out at the backyard of the abandoned property, in the late afternoon. Fortunately, she was at home at that time and managed to put out the bushfire in time.
“Imagine how serious and dreadful it could have been, if the bushfire had occurred at night when everybody was sound asleep. This place has literally become a mini jungle, and it’s anyone’s guess what creatures could be hiding inside it. And it also make us feel rather uncomfortable, as it looks like a ‘haunted’ house,” she lamented.
In his response, Gee urged the DBKK upon receiving public complaints, to quickly locate and to compel the property owners to take responsibility for their properties, in accordance with the existing law.
He went on to note that, according to the Sabah Land Ordinance (Cap.68) , the Collector of Land Revenue has the authority to take possession of residential or commercial shop lots deemed to have been abandoned, especially if they are found to be posing great nuisance and hazards to the public.
In this particular case, he was reliably told that the owner of the said property was actually living nearby the housing estate, but failed to properly maintain it, for reasons best known to him.
He thus hoped that the City Hall could conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain the reasons behind the property owner’s failure to maintain the property, and to take appropriate actions to remedy it.
“Meanwhile, perhaps the City Hall should also seriously review its existing law and to introduce new ones, if the existing ones are obsolete and insufficient to deal with such an issue.
“It’s time for our local authority to start taking public complaints seriously, and to immediately rectify them before some untoward or life-threatening incidents happen,” he said.
He added that, the efficiency of the local authority in responding to and resolving public complaints is not only crucial towards winning the trust, cooperation and support of the local community, but also in boosting the confidence of foreign investors to come and invest in Sabah.-pr/BÑN
