No mercy for polluters

Workers removing rubbish at the Sungai Skudai rubbish trap. The public are urged not to throw rubbish into rivers and cause pollution. — filepic

ISKANDAR PUTERI: The state government plans to come down hard on polluters in an effort to safeguard the state’s water resources.

Johor public works and rural and regional development committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the state would continue to impose heavy fines on those who pollute the rivers.

“We have already started using relevant laws and enactments to impose fines of up to RM300,000 on those who pollute,” he said, referring to two major ammonia pollution cases in Sg Johor and Kluang.

One involved a fertiliser processing company and the other an oil palm company.

Hasni said last year the state faced severe drought while this year pollution problems were surfacing.

He said this at the closing of SAJ Ranhill Sdn Bhd awareness programme involving secondary schools statewide.

SAJ Ranhill chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Faizal Abd Rahman expressed hope that the government’s recent drastic move to impose hefty fines would create awareness among polluters to refrain from the act.

He also said there were no major water disruptions this year compared with last year.

Hasni (standing, seventh from left), Ahmad Faizal (sixth from left) and SAJ Ranhill executive director Datuk Dr Shahir Nasir (eighth from left) with winners during the ‘Save Water’ educational programme’s closing ceremony at EduCity Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor. — ABDUL RAHMAN EMBONG/ The Star 

“Those with retention ponds need to ensure effluents are properly treated as this can be washed into the rivers during rainy season,” he said.

He urged the public to be alert and not throw rubbish into the waterways as this can also lead to pollution.

Meanwhile, UTM Water Research Alliance dean of research Prof Dr Zulkifli Yusof stressed on the importance of protecting Sg Johor as an important fresh water resource to both Malaysia and Singapore, especially with its water quality slowly deteriorating.

The river, stretching 2,636sq km, can easily be polluted by sludge, agricultural waste, mining and sand extraction.

Prof Zulkifli said it was timely for the state government to look into having an integrated river basin management for Sg Johor.

He also suggested the government give more clout to the State Water Regulatory Body, including upgrading them to an authority with more manpower.

Meanwhile, on the SAJ Ranhill school event, some 18,000 students have benefited from the programme which has been held since 2010.

This year some 4,400 students were selected from 33 schools statewide.

Among the activities carried out include water stories, tips to conserve water, ways to test raw water, awareness talks, workshops and others.