Ipoh losing its shine - The Star

May 8, 2007

YEARS ago, Ipoh was a pleasant place to live in. But over the years, the city scenery has been on the decline and it now appears lawless and dirty.

The streets in the city centre are littered with discarded parking coupons.

The residential areas are seldom cleaned and there are garden refuse and discarded furniture dumped along roadsides.

City Hall seems unable to cope.

Food outlets are flouting the law by putting chairs and tables across walkways, parking bays and roads. City Hall seems unable to contain their illegal activities.

In addition, there is now an almost invincible and odourless danger hovering over a large part of this city that may affect public health.

The source of this danger are the twin silos of the cement factory in Tasek Industrial Estate, now a prominent city landmark.

Residents had opposed the setting up of the factory when it was first proposed because of the environmental pollution it would cause.

But the Ipoh City Council pushed through the approval despite the strong objections. People living near the factory began to suffer the effects after the factory began production.

Now that the factory exists, the authorities are failing in their duties to minimise the danger to public health.

Ipoh is now “proudly” the only city having a cement factory with twin silos.

Residents want to know whether an environment impact assessment was conducted before approval was given.

It appears that the decision makers have failed to consider the long term damage the factory is causing especially to the population living within a four kilometre radius of it.

A large amount of dust is produced at all stages in making cement until it is bagged.
The dust nuisance is getting so bad that I have to vacuum the house once weekly.
The amount of dust collected is quite scary.

It is unlikely the factory will be relocated after its owner has invested millions of ringgit in it. We also cannot rely on the government agencies that has allowed this dust-spewing monster to be created to conduct strict and regular surveillance.

On another note, residents along Jalan Kuala Kangsar have to put up with the police shooting range.

Almost every morning, shooting practice takes place in Padang Tembak for hours.
The loud noise disturbs senior citizens and babies.

It is quite difficult to sleep or take a nap. Students of the religious school and residents of the two police flats located less than 100m away are also affected.

Can the police relocate the shooting range?