mohd farhaan shah The Star 5 Apr 19;
JOHOR BARU: The state’s plan to relocate factories within the Pasir Gudang industrial area to other suitable districts have come under fire from non-governmental organisations and political leaders.
Malaysian Nature Society vice-president Vincent Chow said the suggestion from Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian showed it was a lazy man’s approach that does not solve environmental issues in the state.
“It will not solve anything but would create more environmental problems in the future if the government goes ahead with their plan,” he said when contacted here yesterday.
Chow added that if Osman really wanted to make a positive change, then the government should enforce existing laws in protecting the environment.
Meanwhile, Johor PKR chief Hassan Abdul Karim said the river and air pollution in Pasir Gudang must be handled more responsibly and not by closing and relocating factories.
“The state government should monitor more than 60 licensed chemical factories in Pasir Gudang and take lawful action against those that do not have any licence,” he added.
Tebrau MP Steven Choong said there were several factors that Osman must take into consideration before making a final decision on whether to relocate all the factories.
“Who is going to bear the cost of buying new land, build the new factories, dismantling and reinstalling the machines,” he said.
It was reported by Bernama that Osman said the government was in the midst of identifying several areas suitable for the relocation of factories from the Pasir Gudang area.
Among the locations were Kota Tinggi, Kluang or Simpang Renggam.
Move to stop illegal dumping of chemicals
nelson benjamin The Star 3 Apr 19;
JOHOR BARU: A task force must be formed to check all chemical factories and rivers in Pasir Gudang, to prevent a repeat of the Sungai Kim Kim chemical waste pollution incident, said Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim.
He said all parties, including the public, private sector and the government must work together to combat illegal dumping of chemicals.
“We can have laws in place but if they are not enforced, then they are useless.
“We need a task force to constantly monitor our waterways to ensure they are free of pollution.
‘We also must have a standard operating procedure (SOP) when it comes to checking factories dealing with chemicals, and action must be taken against those which are not licensed,” he said after launching an environment-based NGO known as Persatuan Dinamik Aktif Lindungi Alam Johor (Dalia) here.
This chemical waste pollution was detected on March 6, in the area below a bridge in Sungai Kim Kim.
Thousands of people including children in Pasir Gudang were affected, forcing the government to close 111 schools in the area.
Most sought treatment for respiratory problems.
The incident shocked the nation as it occurred in one of Johor’s biggest industrial towns, with a population of a few hundred thousand people.
There are 700 big and small factories in the area, which also houses two sea ports – Johor Port and Tanjung Langsat.
Hassan, who is also Johor PKR chief, said after the clean-up there were no more reports of people falling ill.
On Dalia’s role, he said such organisations were important to spread awareness on the importance of caring and maintaining the environment, especially after Sungai Kim Kim incident.
“We need to expand such organisations to all parts of Johor,” he said.
Dalia president and founder Fauziah Mokhtar said the association hoped to spread awareness on environmental conservation to both the young and old.
“We will have programmes for children and adults as we need everyone’s help to save our environment,” said Fauziah who is also Pontian municipal councillor.
