SHAH ALAM, Dec 23 — The Selangor state government needs the help of volunteers and lorries to speed up and launch clean-up operations to take out bulky rubbish from confined areas affected by the floods, said Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari today.

He said the help of volunteers was much needed to transport rubbish from the houses of residents which could not be accessed by the big rubbish trucks of KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd (KDEB) which is a wholly owned company of the state government.

“I hope volunteers who want to help in Selangor, besides providing food aid and saving people, can also help us to remove garbage from houses located in small alleys to the main road. Once out on the main road, KDEB members will take over.

“Now we have more than 1,200 KDEB members and officers to resolve (the issue of bulk garbage after this flood). But if we were to enter the alleys (in housing areas), we will likely need more (manpower),” he told reporters after inspecting the post-flood situation in Padang Jawa in Section 16 here.

Amirudin also welcomed anyone who could lend their lorries to transport garbage to speed up the cleaning process in the affected areas. 

“We already have over 400 garbage trucks in operation throughout the state of Selangor to dispose of garbage. (But) If anyone wants to provide us with a truck or two, we would really appreciate it . The more lorries there are, the faster we can remove more garbage,” he said.

At the same time, Amirudin said he had asked for the operation time of the Jeram Sanitary Landfill in Jeram, Kuala Selangor to be extended from 8 pm to 11 pm to avoid a long waiting time for garbage trucks to dispose of flooded bulk garbage at the facility.

In the meantime, Amirudin said his department was identifying a locality to place towed cars that were left stranded on the side of roads and lanes around the state due to the sudden floods. — Bernama