FRUSTRATED at the lack of response to the chemical pollution cases in Pasir Gudang, Johor, residents are banding together to take the fight to the authorities.

They are organising a rally at the steps of Menara Aqabah where the Pasir Gudang Local Council is located to demand answers which they claim are not forthcoming from the state authorities.

The Pasir Putih pro-tem action committee and the Pasir Putih Parent-Teacher Association are looking to compel the state government to give answers on what is going on and what is causing the pollution in the area.

They are also demanding compensation and medical welfare for their children. They had sent a letter on their grouses to the state government in March when their children were hit by the first wave of pollution during the Sg Kim Kim crisis.

Pasir Putih pro-tem commitee deputy chairman Rafea Abdullah told The Malaysian Insight the rally could be held as early as next week.

“When we were hit in March during the Sg Kim Kim incident, we sent a letter to the state government but have yet to get a reply. 

“We are forced to take this action as the state government has remained silent all this while.

“The parents are upset and want to know what is happening here,” Rafea said.

Their anxiety grew yesterday when Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change MinisterYeo Bee Yin told parliament the authorities were still unable to pinpoint the source of the latest case of contamination in Pasir Gudang in the failure of contaminants to show up on toxicology tests.

Yeo said the current episode was different from the Sungai Kim Kim case.

She said in the first incident, the contaminant identified at source and detected in the victims’ blood samples matched the air dispersion model that simulated the spread of gases according to the direction and speed of the winds.

“But in the current case, the location of the cases were far apart. Simulation tests on the location of the victims also cannot pinpoint the source of contamination,” the minister had said.

In the Sg Kim Kim public health crisis in March, 6,000 people were exposed to chemical waste that had been dumped into the river. In the latest case, more than 700 people, mostly students, were treated for respiratory problems believed to be caused by waste discharged by chemical factories in the area.

Rafea said more than 300 people, mostly parents, are expected to attend the rally.

“We will be gathering the residents together and seeking the participation of non-governmental organisations. We hope to get a large crowd.”

SMK Pasir Putih Parent-Teacher Association chairman Ahmad Yusoff Suparman said he will be there.

“We will be discussing the issue with the parents soon.

“We are frustrated because we lack information from the authorities.

“We want to be heard and we want the state government to listen to what the parents have to say,” Yusoff said.

He added the parents do not have confidence in the state government and some have stopped sending their children to school. 

“About 50 children have not been going to school regularly since the incident.”

He said that as a precautionary measure, the parents and teachers are on stand by every morning to check the classrooms on the third and fourth levels. 

“This is where most of the students were affectedt. If there is a smell or fumes, we will move the students to the lower levels”. – July 5, 2019.