Residents living in fear of rats at Loke Yew housing scheme

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of the Loke Yew People’s Housing Scheme here are living in fear of a possible rat infestation.

Several dwellers of the 19-storey building claimed to have encountered the pests even on the higher floors and are worried the rats might contaminate the water storage tanks with their urine.

“If the rats get into the water storage tanks, it will be very dangerous for us as their urine may contaminate the water,” said resident Aina Mohamad, 45.

She said the residents had carried out “gotong royong” clean-ups but could not get rid of the rats.

Aina said she hoped Kuala Lumpur City Hall would be able to help the over 4,000 residents there eradicate the pests for good.

Another resident, Zurnita Tahir, 40, who lives on the 17th floor, said the grandchild of a neighbour stepped on rat urine and suffered a swollen leg soon after.

“I am worried that my young children may be similarly affected because we have seen rats running around. In the beginning, they were only seen up to the seventh floor but now they are everywhere,” she said.

Meanwhile, Jeff Chu Jun Mun, chairman of the Cheras Parliamentary Constituency Sub Zone 1 Residents’ Representative Council, did not rule out the possibility that dirty surroundings provided a conducive environment for the rats to breed.

“As of now, I have yet to receive any complaint from the residents. Nevertheless, I will meet them and convey the problem to City Hall. The matter should be taken seriously as it can be life-threatening,” he said. -FMT