River pollution: Agong expresses disappointment, decrees heavier penalties

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today described the Sungai Gong water pollution incident which caused a major water disruption affecting approximately five million people in the Klang Valley as an irresponsible action that caused harm to the people.

While expressing his disappointment over the incident, His Majesty decreed that those involved in causing the pollution to be taken to court and, if convicted, be punished with heavier penalties.

“Al-Sultan Abdullah who has been following the development of the incident from the first day of the unscheduled water disruption is really concerned about the grievances and burden of the people facing the problem.

“His Majesty has also expressed sympathy to the people who had to queue up to get a pail of water every time the water supply is disrupted,” Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement here today.

Ahmad Fadil said Al-Sultan Abdullah said this during an audience granted to the Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man at Istana Negara here.

His Majesty said the pollution case of Sungai Gong was a repeated case which not only affected the people but also the local economy as many businesses had to cease operations due to the unscheduled water disruption.

The pollution incident of Sungai Gong, which began last Thursday, had caused 1.2 million accounts and approximately five million users in seven regions in the Klang Valley to suffer an unscheduled water supply disruption.

Earlier media reports said that the authorities had identified a factory as the source of pollution which forced four water treatment plants in Selangor to stop their operations.

The water supply disruption was not the first experienced by residents in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur as a similar incident had also occurred before the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) early this year.

Apart from stern actions, Al-Sultan Abdullah also called on the authorities, especially the Environment and Water Ministry, through the Department of Environment, to enhance monitoring and law enforcement to ensure such incident of river pollution would not recur.

“Al-Sultan Abdullah also expressed support to the Selangor government’s action in ordering the factory owner to demolish the building structure after the land used for heavy machinery maintenance work was found not having any planning approval from the local authority,” Ahmad Fadil said.

He said the King also expressed appreciation to Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and the relevant government agencies for their swift action to restore the water supply to the affected areas.

Ahmad Fadil said Al-Sultan Abdullah also decreed for environmental care to be given focus by the authorities, especially in the governance and management of rivers, as well as in increasing awareness among the people.

The love and care for the environment should be inculcated among the people by providing early education to children and by organising programmes to clean public areas, he added.

-- BERNAMA