KUALA LANGAT: The district of Kuala Langat in Selangor is known for its tourist attractions and rich historical heritage. Unfortunately, the mushrooming of industrial activities and illegal factories is putting a question mark over the degrading quality of not only the air but the rivers flowing across the Langat basin.
Kuala Langat, where popular destinations such as Morib beach, Carey Island and Bukit Jugra are located, is now forced to contend with various issues, the chief among them being the effects of pollution generated by industrial activities.
Who would have ever guessed that Kuala Langat, once envisaged as the venue for a science park, would, particularly over the last five years, turn into a focal point for factory owners wishing to rake in profits?
Teluk Panglima Garang, Jenjarom, Sungai Manggis, Teluk Mengkuang and Tanjung 12 are among the areas favoured by industries.
Last year alone, not less than 30 illegal factories in the district, involved in recycling imported plastic waste, were ordered to cease operations as their activities had not only led to the dumping of industrial waste into rivers but also the emission of chemical pollutants into the air.
Last year, a battery-recycling plant in Jenjarom was issued a RM12,000 compound and ordered to close down for causing acid and lead pollution in the area.
Although action has been taken against illegal and legal factories by the Department of Environment (DOE) for flouting the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the geographically strategic location of the district is still attracting industries.
The fact that Port Klang is only about 30 kilometres away is one of the reasons why Kuala Langat is a prime location for factories.
Another reason is the 149.3-km Sungai Langat that has its estuary situated within the district at Permatang Pasir from where the water drains into the Strait of Malacca. As unethical as it sounds, the location makes it “convenient” for factories to dump their industrial effluents into the river.
Selangor executive council member in charge of Infrastructure, Public Amenities, Agricultural Modernisation and Agro-based Industry Izham Hashim was previously quoted as saying that 8,676 factories and industries were located on the Kuala Langat basin.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
Kuala Langat, which has a population of 200,000, also appears to be “attracting” electric and electronic waste as heaps of e-waste were discovered in seven sites around Jenjarom in early January this year.
In October this year, Selangor DOE detected open burning of piles of suspected cable sheaths and electronic circuit boards at an illegal dumpsite in Banting which allegedly caused air pollution in several nearby villages.
Meanwhile, residents living near the industrial areas are anxious about the health risks they are exposed to due to environmental pollution. Many of them are complaining of odour pollution, as well as noise pollution due to container lorries frequently delivering or collecting cargo from the factory sites. Some people have even developed breathing difficulties ostensibly due to the polluted air.
Mohd Ali Hasan @ Ibrahim, 42, an executive at an airline company who lives in Sungai Manggis, Banting, said while the residents are not against industrialisation, they did not want the factory operations to have a negative impact on the environment.
“Illegal factories should not be allowed to operate here, as well as high-risk industries that can affect the local community’s well-being.
“Unfortunately, it does seem as if Kuala Langat has become a place for people to process garbage from other countries...many recycling plants can be found here and I believe the number will continue to increase,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Ali also claimed that a paper recycling factory, which started operating in Sungai Manggis in the middle of this year, has been causing noise and odour pollution.
“We believe that this factory, which has the status of a heavy industry, did not follow the rules imposed by the Kuala Langat Municipal Council as it is situated too close to the housing area and school,” he said.
The residents, he added, are worried about the long-term implications on their health because as it is now they have to put up with the bad odour permeating in the air, as well as the noisy container lorries that come to the factory.
Mohd Ali questioned how a factory with heavy industry status was allowed to be built in an area which is just 100 metres away from a housing area and 50 metres from a school when, according to the rules gazetted by the Kuala Langat Municipal Council, a 500-metre-wide buffer zone should exist between a factory and residential area.
RESIDENTS DISSATISFIED
Mohd Ali Jamian, 45, who lives in Taman Bakti which is about 100 metres from the paper recycling factory, said he and his two daughters aged five and 11 have recently developed breathing problems.
“I’ve heart disease but recently I developed asthma which I believe is due to the unhealthy air quality in our area over the past few months.
“It was more worrying when my two daughters developed the same condition and are now forced to use inhalers,” he added.
Over at Jalan Teluk Mengkuang in Teluk Panglima Garang, residents have had to bear with odour pollution for several years now.
One of the residents, who only wanted to be identified as Leiw, said he has been inhaling the pungent odour every day since he moved to the area nearly five years ago.
He said he had been trying to find the source of the odour for some time but failed. However, early last month he managed to trace it to a poultry breeder that also processes chicken manure.
“I happened to pass through a road at Teluk Mengkuang where I saw a factory that was involved in breeding chickens and processing chicken manure... it was located two kilometres from my house in Taman Hormat.
“I believe that this factory is unlicensed and lodged a complaint at the Kuala Langat Municipal Council office but so far no action has been taken,” Leiw, who is in his 50s, said, adding that he is surprised how such a plant was granted approval to operate so close to a residential area.
AQUATIC LIFE AFFECTED AS WELL
The environmental degradation in the Sungai Manggis area in recent years has also affected aquatic life, according to local residents who go fishing in Sungai Langat where giant freshwater prawns and fish such as catfish, siakap, patin buah, lampam and baung used to thrive.
Rosli Ismail, 50, who has been earning a living as an inland fisherman for 30 years, said of late his catches have reduced drastically.
“Sungai Langat used to be a haven for udang galah... in the past, it used to be easy for us to catch four to five kilogrammes but now it is hard to catch even a single one,” he lamented.
“We’re forced to fish for hours before we can catch one or two prawns. The same goes for fish which has also reduced in quantity.”
Rashid Mohd Arof, 58, who has been catching fish and prawns in Sungai Langat since he was 16 years old, is equally frustrated with his small catches.
He said the dumping of industrial effluents and garbage into Sungai Langat is threatening its aquatic life.
“Long ago, the river was clean but its condition has changed ever since the factories started operating here,” Rashid said.
About 20 inland fishermen in the Sungai Manggis area, whose livelihoods depend on their catches from Sungai Langat, are now forced to take up two or three jobs to support their families, he added.-Bernama
