Motorists stopping at the traffic light at the Jalan Jejaka junction may spot some rusty 45-gallon drums dumped on the side of the road.
TAMAN Maluri is a suburb in Kuala Lumpur built in the 1970s.
Although very near the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), it is adjacent to the Pandan Jaya township in Selangor.
Here, the Selangor border is closest to the city centre.
During unearthly hours when vehicles are few, it is possible to drive from Jalan Kampung Pandan, pass through Jalan Perkasa and reach the Selangor border in just two minutes.
However, motorists are likely to stop at one or more of the four traffic lights along Jalan Perkasa in Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur.
Those stopping at the last traffic light at the Jalan Jejaka junction may spot some rusty 45-gallon drums on the left of the road.
The drums look heavy and suspicious, giving the impression that they might contain hazardous wastes.
Instead of transporting them to an authorised secluded site for proper disposal, irresponsible persons have conveniently dumped them next to this busy road.
The five drums on the ground are in between two billboards, both with the words Kuala Lumpur Ceria (Cheerful Kuala Lumpur).
One has additional wordings – “Anugerah seni alam sejagat, menjadi kenangan abadi sepanjang hayat” (The gift of art in the universe, becoming eternal memories throughout life).
This reminds me of a slogan – “A City of Contrasts & Diversity” with a tagline “exciting”, “surprising” and “enticing” –launched by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Like many grand sounding vision and mission statements that are hollow, slogans can also be meaningless.
More importantly, local authorities like DBKL must always be vigilant and exercise duty of care, such as not disregarding the 45-gallon drums which have been left for months along Jalan Perkasa in Taman Maluri.
YS CHAN
Kuala Lumpur
