AG did nothing after water pollution probe in April, says MB

Amirudin Shari says he hopes to work with Putrajaya to handle water pollution issues in the future. (Facebook pic)

SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) failed to act on the state government’s investigation into the pollution of waterways in the state in April.

“We had a difficult time completing our investigation into the pollution in April but subsequently there was no further action taken by the attorney-general,” he told reporters here today.

Amiruddin was referring to the water pollution at the raw water source in Sungai Selangor, which had forced four water treatment plants to temporarily shut down last April.

This incident had caused unscheduled water disruption in several areas in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat.

Less than five months later, and the whole issue has cropped up again with the pollution of waterways causing another disruption to water supply in 1,292 areas in the Klang Valley since last Thursday.

Amirudin said the Selangor state government does not have the power to charge those responsible for water pollution, and punish them with jail sentences.

“Only the environment and water ministry could take such action against these offenders under the Environmental Quality Act 1974, as it was a federal law,” he said.

Amiruddin said he has no intention of pointing fingers at any party but expressed hope to work with Putrajaya in handling such situations in the future.

He was also reported to have said that he intends to increase the maximum fine for water pollution from RM500,000 to RM1 million, through amendments to the Selangor Water Management Authority Enactment.

Previously, Umno had urged the federal and state governments as well as the local authorities to amend existing laws or enact new laws following repeated incidents of river pollution and “sabotaging” water supply causing disruptions in the Klang Valley.

Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported to have called for an increase in fines and compounds that amount to 10 times the cost of cleaning the polluted river.

Zahid had said premises or company owners, including the board of directors and managers should also be punished with mandatory imprisonment and whipping for sabotaging the country’s water supply. - FMT