MELAKA, May 21 — The discolouration, foul-smell and dead fish in Sungai Melaka are not caused by pollution, but believed to be due to the ocean current, said state Housing, Local Government, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman Datuk Tey Kok Kiew.

He said the preliminary report by the Department of Environment (DOE) revealed that the cause was not due to effluent discharges or release of industrial waste.

Tey said only the Tilapia species was affected.

"If there was really a pollution, the dead fish should be seen near the spot where the effluent was discharged and all aquatic life will be affected, not just certain fish.

"The dead fish could only be found seven kilometres from the river estuary to Melaka Sentral and not other areas,” he told a press conference here today. — Bernama