SUNGAI PETANI, April 17 – Hundreds of fishermen, including fish farmers in cages in Sungai Merbok near Sungai Petani, Kedah, have their sources of income affected due to the increasingly serious threat of pollution. The problem is suspected to be caused by waste from the town of Sungai Petani, poison waste from rice fields, rubber factory waste and waste from shrimp ponds.
The Penang Consumers Association (CAP) in the survey made was informed by the fishermen involved that the problem that occurred over the past 10 years has caused fish, shrimp and crabs in the river to die and become extinct. A fisherman, Abdullah Baharom, 58, said every time there was pollution, the river water turned black. This problem has been complained to the relevant parties several times but no action has been taken.
According to him, if the pollution does not occur, the catch obtained is between 20kg to 30kg a day but now it only gets 3kg or 4kg a day. Sharudin Salleh, 46, said fish, prawns and crabs in the Merbok River, which is their main source of catch, are now threatened with extinction due to the pollution.
It is regrettable that although this problem has long affected their sources of income and livelihood but no government is responsible for taking action to overcome it. CAP takes this incident seriously and urges the Kedah government, Local Authority (PBT) departments and agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to identify those responsible for polluting the river.
Strict legal action should be taken against those involved while continuous monitoring by the authorities should be done so that this incident does not recur. CAP is concerned that if the cause of this incident is not addressed effectively not only will the environment be polluted even more seriously in the future but also the fishermen and ranchers in this river may lose their livelihoods.
CAP asked the government to disclose the results of the investigation into the cause of the pollution of Sungai Merbok and the action taken in relation to the incident. Meanwhile, fishermen and breeders whose sources of income are affected should be compensated to alleviate the burden of life that they have to bear all this time.
