KUALA TERENGGANU: They are the neighbours from hell, driving everyone in the area up the wall. The neighbours have hardly had a good night's sleep in three years because of their racket.
And the stench from their droppings force most people to keep their windows permanently shut.
The problem is not a rowdy family making life miserable for the people in the area, but thousands of swiftlets nesting in a shophouse converted into a bird "hotel" by a birds' nest dealer three years ago.
Not only has it disrupted the neighbourhood, it has led to health problems for hundreds of nearby residents, including itchiness, rashes and frequent colds, complained a spokes- person for a group of irate neighbours.
Foo See Guan, who has lived in her shophouse since 1967, said: "Having the swifts for neighbours is like living in hell. No human being should be forced to live this way.
"I can't remember the last time I was able to open my windows for some fresh air.
"I just can't take this anymore."
The 75-year-old added that she would love to have a normal Chinese New Year celebration with her family again.
"It was not so bad in the beginning, when the owner of the building next door converted the first floor into a nesting place for swiftlets.
"As his income from the venture grew, he converted one floor after another into a bird hotel. I think there are five floors now, with more coming, because he has bought the vacant land at the back."
Foo's eldest son Ong Pok Kok, 54, said he had tried to scare the swiftlets away by hanging some plastic bags near the entrance to the birds' nesting place, but his efforts got him in trouble with the local authority.
"I was the bad guy. Several officers from the Kuala Terengganu Municipal Council came and gave us 14 days' notice to remove the plastic bags as they tarnished the image of the town.
"Then, we decided to be a little more patriotic by hanging several national flags up there, but that didn't help."
Ong added that he and a few others had repeatedly asked the municipal council, the health department and the environment department to stop converting buildings in residential areas into bird nesting grounds.
But, so far, all their complaints have fallen on deaf ears
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