MCA Youth Selangor urges lawmakers at both state and federal levels to strengthen legislation, including the Selangor Water Management Board (Luas) Enactment, Penal Code, and the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA), to impose stricter penalties on water polluters.

Water pollution devastates the environment, and causes significant losses to the private sector. Targeting water sources and infrastructure like rivers, tributaries, and pipelines is akin to an act of terrorism as deliberate water contamination remains the easiest way to distribute biological or chemical agents for the purpose of terrorism.

Those responsible for discharging harmful effluents, including factory operators, owners, and directors, should face detention under preventive laws such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 to prevent issues like sabotage or terrorism.

To deter future offenses, we propose amending WSIA Section 121(1)(b) and (c) to mandate a minimum three-year jail sentence plus a fine of not less than RM1 million, to be determined by Parliament.

Similarly, fines under the Local Government Act 1976 and the Environmental Quality Act, currently ranging from RM2,000 to RM5,000 and up to RM500,000 respectively, should be accompanied by mandatory jail terms and increased fines.

On 23 July 2024, Selangor's Public Health and Environment Committee Chairman, Jamaliah Jamaluddin, reported that checks by Luas found effluent from a leaking tank, believed to be polymethacrylic acid waste, had overflowed into drains and ditches up to Sungai Kuang, contaminating nearby rivers including Sungai Kundang and Sungai Sembah.

What happened to the 4 drones costing RM2million?

For further clarity, Jamaliah should address the effectiveness of the RM2 million allocated in October 2020 for four DJI Matrice 300 drones to monitor Selangor's rivers and prevent water pollution. The recurring unscheduled water disruptions due to odorous pollution from contaminated river basins indicate shortcomings in the drone's efficacy, with RM2million of rate payers funds spilled and washed out in the stinking rivers.

MCA Youth Selangor stresses the urgent need for enhanced surveillance and enforcement by Selangor's water authorities such as LUAS and Pengurusan Air Selangor. Heighten monitoring of legal factories near rivers and waterways while illegal factories must be swiftly shut down.

We advocate increasing patrols along rivers, dams, and creeks to protect these vital water sources, particularly in the heavily urbanised Klang Valley, which houses Malaysia's largest population.

Tan Jie Sen
MCA Youth Selangor Chairman

25 July 2024

-MCA Comm-