KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – After flyers failed to stop litterbugs, the frustrated mayor of a Malaysian town told his officials to blow the whistle on offenders — literally.
Khazali Din, mayor of the northern Alor Star city, said Thursday that those who throw garbage on the streets will be greeted with a sharp whistle blown by patrolling city officials, and a fine of up to 300 ringgit ($85).
"I've been trying so many methods, but they failed. I think this is the best way because people will feel shy or embarrassed when they are caught red-handed," he said.
The whistle offensive started Monday, but Khazali said his officers are not yet adept at pouncing on offenders, so no one has been caught yet.
The litter monitors must learn to act "on the spot, on the dot," he said, adding that the city will give the whistle campaign until at least the end of the year to show results.
Some offenders may be let off with a warning, without having to face the full music, he said.
Here's the other story:
Malaysian men who call their wives ugly could go to jail
Men in Malaysia who call their wives ugly could find themselves thrown into prison.
The government is being asked to consider criminalising 'emotional violence'.
Women's groups say husbands who demonstrate a pattern of causing psychological damage should face counselling, fines or jail.
Offenders could include a man who 'tells his wife she is ugly or humiliates her until she feels emotionally pressured', the head of the government's Women's Development Department said during a conference on violence against women.
Noorul Ainur Mohamad Nur said emotional abuse could deeply scar a woman's dignity and self-confidence.
About 90 per cent of some 800 women who called the country's Women's Aid Organisation for help last year reported being psychologically abused, though some were also physically assaulted.
The Women's Development Department proposed the legislation after lobbying from human rights groups.
There were no immediate details about when Parliament would discuss the plan.
