Over 70% of Malaysia's rivers in 'clean' category, says Fadillah

PUTRAJAYA: About 72% of rivers nationwide are in the "clean" category, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister said that this percentage comes up to 486 out of the 672 rivers surveyed by the Environmental Department.

“161 rivers (24%) are moderate and the remaining 25 rivers (4%) are polluted,” he told reporters on Thursday (June 6) after chairing the first meeting of the Special Committee to counter water quality deterioration.

Fadillah said the special committee was established to focus on water management following the decision made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Fifth National Water Council meeting.

“This special committee plays an important role in ensuring that steps for and management of the implementation of strategies to improve river water quality are taken in an integrated manner.

“This committee will also act as a platform for sharing information and best practices related to the improvement of river water quality,” he said.

According to the data shared by the Deputy Prime Minister, Johor leads the list of states with polluted rivers with nine in the moderate and polluted categories.

The data shows that the rivers in the "moderate" category (Class III) are Sungai Danga, Sungai Segget, Sungai Sebulung, and Sungai Tampoi.

Sungai Buluh, Sungai Tukang Batu, Sungai Kempas, Sungai Pandan and Sungai Sengkuang are listed as "polluted" (Class IV).

Penang has three "moderate" and one "polluted" river, added Fadillah.

Among the main causes of the pollution are industrial waste, sewage plants, agriculture and plantation.

Fadillah then said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will be utilised to enhance river quality monitoring in the country and added that this will be led by the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim).

“Nahrim has developed a Smart AI System for the Rating and Classification of Rivers in Malaysia (Airs). The system can be used at river basins nationwide by the relevant parties to monitor the water quality of the rivers,” he added.

The meeting was also attended by other agencies which include the representatives of state exco, and state water regulatory bodies.

Separately, Fadillah commented on the non-revenue water (NRW) issue by saying that the Federal Government will continue to collaborate with state governments to improve water pipes in their respective jurisdictions.

“The Federal Government will provide assistance in terms of loans or grants to fix old water pipes in their states as the losses caused by NRW are mainly due to poor piping systems.

Illegal extensions of the water supply are also a factor and for this, state governments need to take actions based on their existing laws,” he said.

In May, Fadillah said NRW issues across the country are causing losses of over RM2bil annually.

NRW refers to water that has been produced but is lost before it reaches the customers.

As of January, at the national level, the NRW was at 37.2%.