KUANTAN: Concerted efforts from the Government and the public need to be made to save the natural environment of Tasik Chini, the head of an environmental organisation said.
Sustainable Development Network Malaysia (Susden) president Bishan Singh said there was no point in everyone pointing fingers at each other for the deteriorating condition of Tasik Chini, which is the second-largest freshwater lake in the country.
Bishan Singh said Susden would help bring in foreign experts to look into ways to save the lake from pollution.
He added that the Tasik Chini could be saved but the work must be carried out without delay.
He gave the example of Lake Biwa, in Honshu Island, Japan, which was heavily polluted with industrial waste in 1969.
However, the lake “managed to recover” and returned into its original pristine condition eight years later, after efforts by the Japanese government to rehabilitate it.
Bishan Singh said Susden also launched the “Save Tasik Chini campaign” on Friday to help save the lake.
He said the campaign, which would run for a year, would included eight action plans, including the carrying out an in-depth investigation, mobilising community awareness and education, setting up monitoring units and getting feedback on the condition of the lake.
“We need about RM1mil to run the programme and we need the help of all organisations and the private sector,” he added.
Bishan Singh was responding to a special report in The Star last week, which highlighted the contamination of the lake by E. coli and Salmonella bacteria.
