Villager claims he was unaware that chemicals were among waste on his land

SUNGAI PETANI: When Ishak Awang Che Su allowed contractors to dispose their waste on his 1.8ha land in Kampung Kemumbung, all he wanted was to fill up the cavity in the former sand mine.

Unfortunately, the land, as large as two football fields, is now filled with various kinds of waste, ranging from piles of used clothing to vehicle auto parts, barrels of scheduled waste and chemicals, and an assortment of plastic waste ranging from sheets to pellets.

Labels on the chemical containers showed some were manufactured as recent as April this year, and information on product wrappers showed that they were produced within the country.

However, there were also those which were in foreign language, believed to be imported and disposed at the site along with the others.A foul odour fills the air as the waste disintegrates just metres away from Sungai Muda.

The 60-year-old villager claimed that he was unaware of the need to obtain a permit before starting work on the land.

He also added that he has no knowledge of the chemicals at what is now an illegal dumpsite, until authorities showed up days ago.

“In 2008, the land was an abandoned sand mining site filled with water.

Landowner Ishak Awang Che Su.

“I bought a used excavator for RM50,000 to work on filling up the land, and allowed contractors to dump their waste, charging them RM30 per truck.

“The contractors promised me they will not bring in chemicals or anything that will cause a foul odour.

“Villagers here never complained about the work, hence I did not find anything wrong with it until the authorities showed up,” he said at the site yesterday.

Ishak, who was born and bred in the village, said he was hoping to turn the land into an oil palm plantation and cattle ranch after it was filled and levelled.

State authorities sealed the site and seized an excavator, bulldozer, backhoe and tractor under Section 81(3) of Act 672 (Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act) yesterday.

Kedah tourism, local government and housing committee chairman Tan Kok Yew said in an interview that an initial investigation revealed that the 17,033 sq metre site received an average of 30 truckloads of waste daily.

“Most of the waste is from commercial and industrial premises in Sungai Petani, Kulim and Penang.

No more in service: An officer from the Sungai Petani Municipal Council putting up the stop work notice.

“From observation, it was clear that the site is not a recycling centre, but an illegal disposal site.

“In Kedah, the only waste disposal site is in Semeling,” said Tan, adding that the dumpsite has existed since 2008 and was reported in 2016. But he declined to comment further on why action was only taken now.

Asked if Sungai Muda was at risk of contamination, Tan said he will wait for environmental reports.

For the record, the site is 15km upstream from a major raw water intake point for Penang.

Sungai Petani Municipal Council president Mohd Fauzi Mustaffa, who was also present at the site, said it has not received any application for any work on the land.- Star