FRIGHTENED by the recent toxic waste contamination in Sg Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, residents of Sg Petani more than 400km up north have started their own voluntary patrolling unit to monitor and weed out illegal waste factories which have mushroomed in their neighbourhood.

They claim that in the span of two years, more than 10 illegal recycling waste factories have set up shop in their area.

Fearing for their health after being hit by unbearable air pollution and smoke from the factories, the residents have started patrolling the areas at night to gather information for the authorities.

The committee was set up because of the limited action from the authorities, Sg Petani pro tem action committee chairman Huang Ang Chong told The Malaysian Insight.

“What we are doing is gathering information and passing it to the authorities.

“There is a school located less than 500m from the industrial area. We don’t want a repeat of Sg Kim Kim here,” the 47-year-old said.

The incident at Sg Kim Kim affected about 4,000 families in Pasir Gudang. Almost 1,000 people were admitted to hospitals while 12 were treated in intensive care units.

Putrajaya ordered all 111 schools in the area to be closed and they would only reopen at the end of the school holidays next week.

Huang said there are still factories with mountain-high waste in the vicinity.

“They only operate at night and that’s when we go on patrol. We go almost daily in groups of three to five people to check on the factories.

“We can smell the bad fumes and smog usually between midnight and 6am.”

The area used to be filled with timber-processing factories but in the last two years, waste recycling factories began popping up, Huang said.

Former Sg Petani councillor P. Sritharan said more stringent checks must be carried out by the authorities before a disaster like Sg Kim Kim happens again.

“This is not something new here. We get many people complaining about the fumes.

“In the last three months, it has become worse. At least two to three times a week, people are affected by the fumes.”

Sritharan, 57, said the state should close down the factories temporarily and check if they are legitimate and following the guidelines.

“There are police reports lodged over the illegal factories. We hope that they take action.”

Bakar Arang assemblyman Simon Ooi Tze Min said only two out of the 13 recycling factories in the area have approved permits (APs) to import plastic.

Putrajaya froze the operations of the two factories in July 2018, he said. They obtained the AP before the 14th general election. 

Ooi said despite repeated actions, the factories continue to operate.

Since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2017, Malaysia has become one of the world’s biggest plastic importers, receiving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish each year.

Between January and July last year, Malaysia received 754,000 tonnes of plastic waste, mostly from the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia, according to Greenpeace.

Children affected

SJKC Tai Tong parent-teacher association chairman Christine Lai said the school had complained about toxic air from burning activities.

“The burning of industrial residue happened near the school last year and again, this year.

“The residents and school have lodged complaints because they saw people burning there,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Lai, who is also on the residents’ patrol team, said this time, the waste is being burnt even closer to the school, forcing it to stop all outdoor activities.

“The pupils at the nearer blocks are moved to the halls, so they are not affected by it.

“Even so, several pupils complained about feeling unwell and had difficulties breathing, forcing teachers to send them home.”

Lai said they called the Fire and Rescue Department a few times but even though the fires were extinguished, the fumes linger on.

“SW (solid waste) Corp also dug up six lorries of residue from that area. We want to know where does this waste come from and why are such things happening?

“Only immoral guys will do this or else it won’t happen near the school and residential areas.” – March 24, 2019.