RESIDENTS of Sg Petani want to shut down the dozen or so illegal waste-processing factories in the area through a petition to the Kedah government. 

The petition was started following the toxic pollution crisis at Sg Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, Johor, where more than 4,000 residents and schoolchildren were affected by toxic fumes as a result of the dumping of chemicals into the river earlier this month.

Vincent Heng, who initiated the petition together with other residents, said it is crucial that the authorities start addressing their grouses seriously before another disaster happens.

“We understand that they are carrying out their operations on the illegal factories, but that’s not enough.

“Many families are affected by the daily air pollution here. We want a permanent solution,” the 47-year-old told The Malaysian Insight.

Heng said since they started the drive last Sunday, they have collected more than 1,000 signatures and expect to collect another 5,000 signatures by the end of next week.

The petition will then be handed over to Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir, Sg Petani MP Johari Abdul and all the relevant agencies.

“We have been campaigning aggressively by going to the morning markets and we have visited 20 hawker areas.

“We need to get as much support as we can so that the authorities will take note,” he said.

Residents want to know the status of the illegal waste factories in the Bakar Arang industrial area.

“Some of the residential areas are located 500m from the factories. They are affected by the fumes and smog from the plastic waste recycling factories,” he said.

Residents want to know how the waste is brought in to the factories and how they are being disposed of, he said.

Heng said that if the authorities fail to address the issue, then the residents plan to hold a protest in front of the factories.

Another resident Leow Kok Jin, 37, said that the smell of burning plastic and rubber is overwhelming.

“You can start to see some smoke around 7.30pm, then you can’t see anything in the night, but you can smell it.

“At first, we thought something in our house is burning, because it smells like plastic.

“We can feel it two to three days per week, and we thought it was someone burning rubbish, only after a while we found out it was from the factories.” – March 24, 2019.