PARENTS and teachers have come together to clean four schools near Johor’s Sungai Kim Kim as classes are set to resume tomorrow after a toxic chemical spill caused them to be shut earlier this month.

They said they wanted to ensure that the children start the new school term in a clean and safe environment after many were traumatised by toxic fumes emanating from the chemical contamination.

SMK Pasir Putih Parents Teachers Association chairman Ahmad Yussof Suparman, 53 said he was overwhelmed with the support from the parents and teachers.

“We started cleaning the schools after the first incident, but had to stop when the second wave hit.

“We have been cleaning the schools since Monday, and we hope that tomorrow all will be well,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The illegal dumping of chemicals into the river two weeks ago caused more than 1,000 people, mostly students, to be treated for health problems.

The department of environment said 20 tonnes of chemical waste could have been dumped into the river that triggered the environmental and public health crisis.

A total of 111 schools in Pasir Gudang were ordered closed since the crisis, which started on March 7 when school children starting falling ill.

The DoE has since given its assurance that the river is free from pollutants and air quality has returned to safe levels.

However, Yussof said the parents also want DoE to educate students on the environment and on what to do if such a crisis repeats itself in the future.

“When the incident happened we were all caught offguard and didn’t know what to do and what to expect,” he said.

More than 60 teachers and 20 parents took part in the three-hour programme yesterday.

There are 1,964 students from 36 classrooms who will be attending classes at SMK Pasir Putih tomorrow.

The other three schools involved in the clean-up are Sekolah Agama Taman Pasir Putih, SK Taman Pasir Putih and SMK Tanjung Puteri Resort.

All the schools 300m to 500m from Kim Kim.

Seri Alam district police headquarters Mohd Shamsso Abdullah said the state had deployed 93 police officers and 51 Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel to help with the clean-up, which started Friday.

“We will also continue to monitor the schools and respond if assistance is needed,” he said. 

At Masjid Al Firdaus in Taman Pasir Putih, Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram) and other donors gave out more than 120 sets of school uniforms and stationery to the children. – March 30, 2019.