POSER FOR MPPP: Is it true Floating Mosque in Tanjung Bungah is STINKING & WHY?

GEORGE TOWN - THE congregation leaving  Friday prayers at the Tanjung Bungah Floating Mosque   were shocked to see the waters surrounding it was  blackish-green in colour and was emitting a foul smell.

They have been made to endure the stench over the past few months, a situation made worse during dry weather.

The place of worship is presently surrounded by a lagoon formed by sand banks from an eroded coast, and had "lasso-ed" all rubbish and dirty water from a nearby drain.

Some of the worshippers met were appalled the clean-up works were moving at a snail's pace.

MPPP not doing enough?

Hotel worker Musa Yaacob, 58, said the local authorities were not doing enough to resolve the problem of rubbish floating in the water over the years.

"The Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) seems to have done nothing. Only after the Batu Ferringhi pollution came up in the papers did they come to visit."

First-time visitor Mouhamed Abdel Sattar, 30, said the mosque looked beautiful but the surrounding waters were shameful.

"They must do something immediately," said the Arabic language teacher from Egypt, based in Guar Chempedak, Kedah.

Also part of Friday's congregation was former USM vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Ishak Tambi Kechik, who called on the authorities to act immediately to solve the problem.

The mosque committee first sounded the alarm after its members noticed a blackish substance, similar to what was found in Batu Ferringhi recently, in a case that had dominated the front page of the New Straits Times for the past week.

Eyesore?

Mosque qariah chairman Roslan Abu Bakar said the unpleasant smell has caused uneasiness among the congregation.

Checks by NST showed water below the mosque had turned greenish-black and was filled with polystyrene, rusted umbrellas and other objects, which have become an eyesore as it was visible from all around.

A resident of the nearby flats, Sopiah Bakar, 63, said she first realised the pollution about a year ago.

"At first, the smell was overwhelming. Now, we have gotten used to it," said the trader.

Qariah welfare and education bureau chief Ahmad Faziel Samsudin said the authorities should act quickly to check for pollutants.

The polluted waters surrounding the Tanjung Bungah Floating Mosque. Pic by Ramdzan Masiam

Meanwhile, students of an adjacent ma'ahad tahfiz (religious school) were left to study in the most torrid conditions, as the polluted waters carried with it a foul stench.

Ma'ahad Tahfiz Al-Quran Kasyfu Al-Ulum assistant secretary Muhammad Zahiruddin Mat Nor said his 50-odd students were having a hard time concentrating in class due to the smell.

"The surrounding area smells like a sewer. However, by the Grace of God, we continue carrying on with classes despite the stench," he said.

MPPP councillor Mohd Hariszuan Jaharudin said it had alerted the Department of Environment and other relevant authorities on the matter.

"We feel that there has been a lot of dumping by irresponsible parties, coupled with the mysterious discharge," he said when contacted. - NST