Streamline water pollution laws, Govt urged

Tackling water woes: Khaled (left) launching the two-day Johor Water Leaders Forum at a hotel in Johor Baru, while Hasni looks on.

JOHOR BARU: The Government should streamline water pollution laws to help resolve the problem, said an exco member.

Johor Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Moham-mad said the often conflicting laws and regulations made it easy for wrongdoers to get away with pollution or water diversion activities.

He said that plugging the loopholes could help resolve the pollution issues plaguing water resources.

He said the suggestion came in the wake of incidents involving Johor rivers – there were water disruptions when two treatment plants had to cease operations due to high ammonia levels.

“I believe the people are already fed up of hearing about the recurring ammonia pollution and we need to do something to stop it once and for all,” he said, adding that the state had spent about RM500mil to improve water reserves.

Citing Singapore as an example, Hasni said the island republic has one authority to manage its water, which is the Public Utility Board, unlike in Malaysia.

He said the laws enforced at the different agencies meant that agencies such as the Johor Water Regulatory Body, Department of Environment, as well as the Drainage and Irrigation Depart-ment, often had conflicting roles and regulations.

“The laws should be streamlined because existing regulations do not reflect our efforts to monitor and control such threats to our water resources.

“The laws stipulate differ terms for each department. For example, one agency defines pollution differently and has a pollutant index that varies from that of another,” he told a press conference yesterday after the launch of the two-day Johor Water Leaders Forum.

Earlier, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who launched the forum, said water usage in Johor was expected to increase by 80% in the next 11 years and that comprehensive steps must be taken to ensure that there was enough water for the people.