ABOUT 50 Taman Pasir Putih residents held a peaceful protest outside the Pasir Gudang stadium today, urging the Johor government to heed their grouses over recent pollution cases that caused nearly 2,000 people to seek medical treatment.

Wearing red t-shirts with the words “Pray for Pasir Gudang”, they demanded that Johor Menteri Besar Sahruddin Jamal fulfil promises made to provide financial aid for the costs incurred.

The protest was timed to coincide with a town hall meeting today between the menteri besar, residents, parent-teacher associations and civil society groups.

At the meeting, Sahruddin apologised to residents for the pollution incidents.

After the meeting, the Taman Pasir Putih protem committee handed a memorandum to Sahruddin stating its demands.

Committee chairman Muhammad Fauzi Rohani said residents wanted the state government to be more communicative in times of crisis.

“We don’t see them disseminating any information to the residents when the crisis hit us.

“We have been hit more than once We want to know what are the long term effects of this (pollution) on our children and the people here,” he said after the town hall meeting.

Last month, more than 700 people, mostly primary school children, were treated for respiratory problems believed to be caused by waste discharged by chemical factories in the area.

This is the second incident of chemical pollution in Pasir Gudang.

The first incident happened in March when more than 1,000 people were treated in hospitals and all schools in the district closed for days.

Fauzi said they were asking for aid from the state government to buy new school uniforms after throwing away the ones that were exposed to the chemicals.

He also said compensation should be given to those who were warded at hospitals for medical costs incurred and for the loss of income during their stay.

Last month, the protem committee lodged a report with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate how the RM6.4 million that was allocated to clean the first toxic flare up in Sg Kim Kim in March had been used.

The committee is questioning how the money was spent as they have yet to receive any aid from the state government.

The committee’s deputy chairman Rafee Abdullah said 110 victims whose health were affected by the pollution are still waiting for assistance from the state.

This was because former menteri besar Osman Sapian had promised in March that the Johor government would allocate RM6.4 million to handle the Sg Kim Kim chemical waste crisis.

Besides cleaning up the pollution river, Osman had said a portion of the funds would be used to provide aid to residents. – August 4, 2019.