Malaysian authorities have taken action against 525 premises for water pollution offenses between January and August this year under the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974.
According to Environment and Water Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the Environment Department’s latest data showed that authorities had taken 815 enforcement actions.
These actions included 224 written notices, 517 compounds, 20 equipment seizures, six revocations of licenses and 48 investigation papers for cases to be referred to court, reported the Malaysian Reserve.
Over the six months, 39 premises were found guilty of offenses under the EQA 1974 by the court and have been ordered to pay penalties worth RM1.05 million in total, according to the minister. Senator Idris Ahmad asked the minister to determine the number of factories that have been prosecuted for dumping contaminants into the river and the value of fines imposed on these factory operators from January to August 2020.
A recent water outage in Klang Valley created concerns and renewed debates on industrial activities near local water catchment areas. The supply cut was attributed to the dumping of industrial oil by a heavy machinery maintenance factory into Sungai Gong, which flows into a tributary of Sungai Selangor, reported the Malaysian Reserve.
The pollution forced the closure of four water treatment plants. The company responsible was identified as Yip Chee Seng & Sons Sdn Bhd, based in Rawang, Selangor.
Four company directors and a factory manager linked to the workshop have been charged under Section 430 and 34 of the Penal Code and Section 25 of the EQA 1974.
The company received an eviction notice from the district land office, so they will be forced to clear the land and demolish the factory building within the next few months. According to Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, the state government will be looking to double the fine for water pollution to RM1 million from the current RM500,000 under the Selangor Water Management Authority Enactment 1999.