Johor exco: Four rivers in Pasir Gudang found polluted, including Sg Kim Kim

PASIR GUDANG, Feb 27 — Four rivers around the Pasir Gudang industrial area here have been declared as polluted and requiring frequent monitoring, including Sungai Kim Kim which was involved in the 2019 incident.

Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the three other rivers were Sungai Tukang Batu, Sungai Perambi and Sungai Buloh, with their pollutions detected by a Johor Department of Environment (DoE) and the Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG) survey yesterday.

“Based on the water samples taken, the river was found to be polluted at levels three and four, which is a worrying situation. There will be efforts to collect more water samples in the rivers and monitoring will be carried out from time to time.

“This is to ensure that the tragic Sungai Kim Kim incident that has hit this area before will not repeated,” said Ling in a statement on his social media accounts.

Earlier, he highlighted Pasir Gudang’s river pollution problem in a 1:24-minute video on TikTok

Ling said he hopes that factory manufacturers and operators in the area comply with the rules to ensure the sustainability and cleanliness of the river.

“The health of the people in Pasir Gudang is important.

“Industrial businesses are required to ensure that any environmental pollution that may affect public health does not occur and are reminded to always comply with all Environmental Quality Regulations stipulated under the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974,” said the Yong Peng assemblyman.

Ling said among the causes of river pollution were industrial activities and sewage, and those in the public who litter.

The DoE classifies six classes of river health: Class 1 (in natural condition), Class 2A (requires conventional treatment), Class 2B (water can be used for recreation), Class 3 (water requires intensive treatment), Class 4 (only for irrigation purposes, and Class 5 (heavily polluted water).

The Sungai Kim Kim toxic pollution incident that occurred in March 2019, shocked the nation at the time because it affected more than 2,000 people and led to the closing of 111 schools in Pasir Gudang.