Dzulkefly: Take stern action against factories responsible for Pasir Gudang incident

KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic) wants stern action to be taken against factories responsible for toxic gas emissions in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

He said that although the effect was not as severe as those affected by the previous chemical pollution of Sungai Kim Kim, authorities should not wait for tragedy to happen.

"We want stern action taken against factories which have caused a lot of problems," he said.

Dzulkefly said this in a press conference after the 2nd Health Ministry Dietitians' Quality and Research Convention 2019 on Monday (July 1).

On Sunday (June 30), Johor health, culture and heritage committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said that some 130 students, including three teachers from 15 schools, experienced symptoms and 30 of them were sent to Pasir Gudang and Masai health clinics.

Dzulkefly said that as at 8pm Sunday night, Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Bahru had seen 26 patients, with three admitted or warded and all were in stable condition.

There were 60 patients treated in clinics and six were admitted, he added.

"The level of toxicity is lower than those in the Sungai Kim Kim (incident) where some were admitted to ICU," he said.

However, he said that the ministry did not want to downplay the issue as it did not want any patients to end up in ICU, he said, adding that some also suffered from anxiety attacks.