KUCHING: An in-depth study and referral involving those in the construction industry should be conducted before coming up with measures to prohibit new housing projects from installing rainwater gutters on the roof.
Assistant Minister of Housing Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he personally did not see the rationale of the proposal to prohibit the installation of rainwater gutters on the roof for newly constructed houses.
“I believe the requirement for gutters comes within building by-laws. I am puzzled how the Ministry of Health suddenly came up with this idea of doing away with gutters in new building laws merely because he (deputy minister) thought that it
could retain water and thus a breeding ground for aedes mosquitoes,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Abdul Karim, who is also Assistant Minister of Youth Development, was commenting on the Health Ministry’s proposal that new housing projects be prohibited from installing rainwater gutters on the roof to curb the rising number of dengue cases.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said the move was necessary as Malaysians were still unaware that gutters that were not properly maintained could become breeding grounds of aedes mosquitoes.
The Health Ministry also proposed that the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government amend its existing regulations so that all rainwater gutters in existing houses would be removed for effective eradication of aedes mosquitoes.
“I personally feel that there is no necessity to do away with gutters. If the problem is the breeding of aedes mosquitoes, then find ways to eradicate the mosquitoes. It is very unlikely that aedes will breed in a gutter unless it is a faulty gutter,” said Abdul Karim, who is also Asajaya assemblyman.
He said tropical Malaysia experiences quite heavy rain throughout the year and that houses were fixed with gutters to allow for proper discharge of rain water to the drain.
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