Expat suggests methods to combat public littering in Vietnam
DONG NGUYEN/TUOI TRE NEWS
UPDATED : 12/05/2016 16:54 GMT + 7
Editor's note: A Singaporean expat has shared his thoughts with Tuoi Tre News on what Vietnam should do to combat people’s bad habit of throwing trash and urinating on the street.
Dr. Ong Kian Soon’s opinions follow a decision by Vietnamese officials to crack down on public urination and littering.
Those urinating in public will be fined between VND1 million (US$44) and VND3 million ($131), a new rule that will take effect on February 1 says.
People caught littering cigarette butts in public will also be fined from VND500,000 ($22) to VND1 million, according to the new rule.
Anyone dumping garbage on sidewalks, roadways and into local drainage systems will be fined from VND5 million ($220) to VND7 million ($308) which is much much higher than the current fine, which is approximately VND400,000 ($17.5).
Fine is good, but not enough
I’ve travelled to Vietnam many times over the past 10 years, so it’s inevitable that I have seen people littering or relieving themselves in public.
These new regulations are a good start. I am glad that the awareness of the importance of a clean environment is improving and official regulations are a good sign that Vietnam is serious about keeping the environment clean.
Of course when you implement these types of regulations, there will be plenty of doubts and many people may say that such regulations to try and change people's behavior are ridiculous, or will never work.
What Vietnam is facing right now is not unusual. Singapore was in the same situation 20-30 years ago. I remember many years ago when I was growing up in Singapore, there were many "Keep the city clean" campaigns and initially, there was a lot of resistance and many people also thought that such campaigns would never work.
However, in spite of objections to such regulations punishing people who dirty the environment, the government persisted and finally people started getting the idea that it’s bad to spoil the environment.
At one time, Singapore was jokingly called a "Fine" city because there were posters everywhere showing how much you need to pay in fines if you dirtied the environment, e.g. littering in the park, spitting on the ground or passing urine in the lifts, etc.
In Singapore, most people live in government-subsidized housing called HDB (Housing and Development Board) apartments, and sensors to detect urine are installed in all HDB lifts to catch people who urinate there. If these sensors are triggered, the lift door will not open and the police will arrest the perpetuator. If I remember correctly, the fine is $500 dollars.
In Singapore, when a person attracts a fine, police officers will actually take down the person's details and the person will have to pay the fine at the relevant government office. If the fine is not paid, he/she can be taken to court and even be jailed if the person repeatedly refuses to pay the fine.
So, I do think that such regulations are feasible in Vietnam, but the government needs to persist and more importantly implement the fines across the board to anyone and everyone who violates the rules, without fear or favor, so that people respect them.
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