JOHOR must do more to protect its rivers from pollution, the Penang Consumer Association (CAP) said.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said the state authorities, including the Environment Department (DOE) and the local councils, must take more effective action to overcome the problem.

Mohideen suggested that a committee be established to study the level of river pollution in Johor and find out the reason for the government’s failure to deal with the longstanding problem.

He said contamination of the waterways was threatening the environment and the lives of the people.

“What worries CAP is that river pollution in this state is not only caused by the dumping of rubbish but also chemical waste that can kill all living things in the river and harm human health,” he said in a statement.

He said Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi had himself pointed out that Sungai Skudai remained polluted even though it was regularly cleaned. 

It was reported that waste such as plastic, chicken carcasses and disposable diapers are regularly thrown into Sungai Tebrau.

Mohideen said that in another case, about 1,500 residents of Johor Baru were affected by the pollution of a river near Kampung Sungai Tiram. 

The villagers had experienced shortness of breath, nausea, sore throat, dizziness and vomiting after inhaling toxic fumes from substances dumped into the river.

“CAP believes that if the authorities fail to firmly enforce the law, bad incidents such as those that occurred in 2019 and 2021 due to the dumping of chemical waste into Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang, which affected the lives of more than 6,000 residents, including school students, will be repeated,” said Mohideen.

“Fishermen who depend on river catches such as fish, crabs, shrimps and others may lose their livelihood if pollution of the rivers in the state continues. 

“The DOE needs to enforce the Environmental Quality Act 1974 more strictly and impose heavy punishment commensurate with the offence and not just issue a compound to those who are found guilty of violating the act.” – August 24, 2023.

ENDS