KDEBWM Bears RM5 Mln Monthly In Diesel Costs For 800 Lorries Not Eligible For Subsidies

SHAH ALAM, June 29 (Bernama) -- KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) is facing financial pressure as it has to bear diesel operating costs reaching RM5 million a month to ensure that waste collection services throughout Selangor are not affected.

Its managing director, Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir said the sharp increase in market diesel prices has burdened the state-owned company, especially for the operation of 800 Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) lorries that do not receive any scheduled subsidies.

"I appeal to the government to listen to our complaint that the 800 RoRo lorries owned by KDEBWM do not receive any subsidy assistance. Imagine that the price of diesel had surged to RM6.02 and even reached RM6.72 per litre previously.

"If we were eligible for scheduled subsidies like contractors, we would only need to pay RM1.99 per litre, but until today, our appeal for RoRo to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has gone unanswered," he said at a press conference at the KDEBWM headquarters here today.

He said the lack of access to subsidised fuel for most of the waste management company's vehicles forced the management to bear an additional cost increase of RM5 million per month compared to the original expenditure of around RM2.5 million.

He said the situation has become increasingly challenging as service payments from the local authorities (PBT) are normally only received after a period of 60 to 75 days, thereby putting pressure on the daily operational cash flow.

"We are not collecting gold, tin ore, or oil to sell for profit; instead, we are public service providers on behalf of the government conducting cleaning tasks.

"When the price of oil increases by more than 100 per cent, the company can no longer maintain the frequency of three trips per day for each RoRo vehicle because there is no provision to cover the additional travel costs," he said.

In this regard, Ramli said his side will continue to strive to seek proper consideration from the federal government so that RoRo vehicles are also listed as vehicles eligible for diesel subsidies for the continuity of public services.

In another development, KDEBWM is now intensifying preparations to ensure the cleanliness of all venues for the Malaysian Games (SUKMA) to be held in Selangor in August is at its best level.

"We expect a temporary surge in migration of around 150,000 people, including athletes and supporters, to flood Selangor, which will in turn cause the amount of solid waste at the competition venues to double from the usual daily rate.

"Our team is prepared to increase the frequency of collections and is ready to conduct operations to manage the expected daily increase in waste at the involved locations," he said.

Commenting further, Ramli said that his team had taken the initiative to mobilise additional assets, including placing more RoRo and MGB240 bins (Mobile Garbage Bin 240-Litre) in crowded areas.

He also urged the public to play an important role by maintaining cleanliness and disposing waste in the designated places to ensure that Selangor's image as a host remains preserved.

-- BERNAMA