CORRUPTION and lack of enforcement on the part of the former Barisan Nasional government are the two main reasons for the high number of pollution scares in our rivers currently, said environmental groups.

They told The Malaysian Insight that the previous administration did not prioritise environmental management and coupled with a lack of enforcement, the problem continued to escalate.

The groups said there are policies in place but these are not focused.

Meanwhile, more could have been done more to prevent river pollution, which ultimately affects millions of people.

In March, toxic chemicals were found dumped in Sg Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, Johor, affecting more than 6,000 people.

EcoKnights founder Yasmin Rasyid said Najib Razak’s government should have put more emphasis on environmental issues.

“The previous government was not really focused and didn’t put environmental issues high up on its national agenda,” she said.

“There are good policies but there is a lack of enforcement. Previously, there was corruption in the government, which caused the rivers to be neglected.

“What had happened in Sg Kim Kim is an indication that this is a crisis affecting our river system,” Yasmin told The Malaysian Insight.

EcoKnights was registered in 2005 as a not-for-profit environmental organisation serving towards mainstreaming sustainable development in Malaysia.

Yasmin said most contamination from chemical or toxic pollutants came from industrial areas, such as Sg Kim Kim.

“Any economic activity that results in the production of wastewater or toxic pollutants, if not treated carefully, will end up in our rivers.

“Why are companies found polluting the environment still given licences to operate?

“If these companies do not care about the environment, then why should the government renew their licence?

“Companies need to be accountable for how their businesses impact on people,” she said, adding that there are enough laws but the government needed to produce better policies and be stricter in enforcement.

“Most of our policies and laws are sufficient. What is disappointing is the implementation of these policies and the punishment that has been stipulated along with them.

“Malaysians really need to step up on being accountable and be serious about enforcing these laws.”

It is crucial that there is transparency and accountability, on which the present Pakatan Harapan government must focus, she said.

This was evident with the measures taken by Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin.

“We can see there are more progressive changes on the ground and we can tell that the minister is serious about tackling the issues.

“The government is focusing on the issue but let’s remember the culprits are from the private sector.

“While we keep on talking about the government’s role and responsibilities, it must address the issue of illegal factories.”

Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman said all levels of government, especially those involved in planning and approval of activities along river basins, must also be responsible for ensuring that rivers are not treated as dumpsites.

“The problem is there are many activities that affect what flows into our rivers, like industrial waste, sewage, agricultural waste and discharge, construction, household waste, deforestation, land-clearing and mining.

“These diverse activities come within the purview of different levels of government, which are federal, state and municipal authorities.

“Keeping the rivers clean stems from which activities are allowed all along the river, including the river basin, from upstream to downstream,” she said.

Meenakshi said it can’t just be the responsibility of the Department of Environment (DoE), which is responsible for pollution control, monitoring and enforcement, and the Drainage and Irrigation Department.

“We must take the approach that rivers are not able to dilute all the pollutants that go into them; that they have limits and when those limits are breached, the rivers are so seriously polluted that they are dead,” she said.

“So, we must review the way licences to discharge waste are issued and begin to see rivers as part of a larger ecosystem, rather than in a piecemeal manner.

“We need a more comprehensive and holistic approach, with limits on how much a river can absorb in terms of pollutants.”

Meenakshi said, according to DoE data between 2013 and 2017, the water quality of Malaysian rivers had deteriorated and was unhealthy.

The data also clearly shows that our river basins are getting worse.

Meenakshi agreed with Yasmin that it was more a problem of enforcement than not having enough laws.

“It is also about improving our monitoring of rivers. This was clearly lacking in the Pasir Gudang incidents,” she said. – July 31, 2019.