Low tide reveals contamination in Sungai Tengah

NIBONG TEBAL: Environ­mentalists who went to plant mangrove trees at the Sungai Tengah river mouth, received a rude shock when they saw pitch black water and an oil slick so thick that it appeared to flow into the sea.

A local NGO said low tide revealed the devastation industrial and agricultural pollution had caused to the river.

“When sea water retreats, nothing is left to hide the blackness of the water and the putrid stench, even near the river mouth,” he said.

Their dismay, however, did not surprise local fisherman Abdul Rahman Ibrahim.

“Groups sometimes come here to plant mangrove seedlings to help the environment,” he said. “The only way to plant them is when the tide is lowest.

“They have to walk on the exposed mudflats, and that’s when you see the pollution,” he added.

The damage, he explained, was not new. It began 10 years ago and has become worse over the years.

“Last time, the sea, just outside the river mouth, was rich in sotong kurita, udang lipan and crabs. Now, there is none.”

Sotong kurita (webfoot octopus) and Udang lipan (mantis prawn) are pricey delicacies found in the high seas.

Abdul Rahman recalled the “good, old days” when it seemed like a festival at sea. Boats would come from Kedah and Perak to join Penang fishermen outside the Sungai Tengah river mouth when the webfoot octopus or mantis prawn would be in season. “They are all gone now,” he said.

“Sometimes, we’ll be amazed to even trap one,” he added.

Appalled, SAM president, the late S.M. Mohamed Idris had issued a press statement late last month, vociferously calling on the authorities not to delay enforcement.

It was one of the last environmental issues Mohamed Idris championed before he died last week.

“SAM believes the state of the river is caused by waste and effluents from palm oil factories, chicken farms and the nearby Pulau Burung landfill.

“The water is pitch black and there is a layer of oil on the surface. Plastic waste is floating everywhere and even lodged into mud at the mangrove swamp,” he had said.

Mohamed Idris had called on the state government, the Seberang Municipal Council, the Department of Environment, the Drainage and Irrigation Department and Veterinary Services Department to use the full might of the law to compel unscrupulous factory owners and farmers to comply with environmental regulations.