The Malaysian Insight

A SELANGOR assemblyman is furious as to why there was a delay in cleaning up the pollution that had caused the latest water cuts in the Klang Valley.

Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran said Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) had alerted the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) on November 4 about the pollution at its plant.

However, nothing had been done about it until water services were interrupted yesterday due to raw water pollution in Sg Selangor.

“The chemical that was there since November 4, why wasn’t it dealt with earlier? It had to be dealt with immediately, not wait one or two weeks to solve the problem,” said Rajiv at the Air Selangor press conference after giving out water to residents at the Bukit Gasing Indah flats.

He was referring to the latest unscheduled water disruption which had affected 1.14 million account holders in 1,279 areas across Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat.

The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) claimed that effluent from one of IWK’s sewerage treatment plants was the cause of the pollution at Sungai Selangor.

However, IWK said that its sewage treatment plant (STP) was affected by illegal waste discharge by irresponsible parties.

The police have arrested four individuals involved with the pollution and are seeking to remand them for investigations.

“These four suspects captured are only part of the crime.

“Who are the factories that are using unauthorised contractors to dispose of the waste?

“These culprits who are cutting costs. The investigation must trace back and catch them to ensure these don’t repeat anymore,” said Rajiv.

He added that the Water and Environment Ministry and the relevant authorities must act fast and firmly.

“We have a water and environment minister that oversees the IWK, SPAN and the environment department that control the scheduling of the waste disposal.

“Only after the water treatment shutdown happened, the authorities started hunting and catching the offenders.”

He urged for the ministry to be more assertive as water cuts have been happening too frequently. – November 11, 2020.