GEORGE TOWN, May 10 – The Penang Consumers Association (CAP) has urged the Perlis Department of Environment (DOE) to take stern action against the factory which was found to have polluted the water of Sungai Ngulang, causing hundreds of fish in the river to die. The problem is alleged to have occurred by the locals due to the discharge of waste from an effluent treatment plant from a factory in Bukit Keteri which is about five kilometers from the river.
A resident, Mohd Azrif Md Amin, 29, said, since early in the morning, dead fish were seen floating and the situation worsened after that where the river water turned black. (Utusan Malaysia Report – 8 May 2022) Sungai Ngulang is not only a place for people to fish for various types of freshwater fish but also to bathe and irrigate rice fields in the state.
CAP regrets that although the incident that caused the river water to turn black has been reported before and the contaminated water has been taken for testing but this problem is still recurring. Therefore, CAP asked the DOE, Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) and Kangar Municipal Council (MPK) to thoroughly investigate the cause of this problem and disclose to the public the legal action taken against those found involved in polluting this river.
The Environmental Quality Act 1974 needs to be strictly enforced and appropriate punishment should be imposed on those involved. CAP believes and is concerned that if the pollution continues, Sungai Ngulang will experience more serious pollution in the future and affect the breeding of various types of fish in it, including rice farming activities by farmers here.
