JERLUN, March 15 — The Kedah government will ensure factories operating in the state comply fully with the stipulated conditions especially on managing chemical and factory wastes.
Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said, the chemical waste pollution incident in Pasir Gudang, Johor should be a lesson to Kedah to be cautious and to take firm measures if there is any violation of regulations by the industries.
“Each time we approve a manufacturing licence, there is a long list of conditions to be complied with especially from the Department of Environment (DOE), we will not only look at the conditions but we will also review ourselves if there are chemical substances and how are they disposed of or whether the owner paid a third party to dispose of the waste.
“So, all have to provide evidence and not only paper, we want to see and inspect whether the factories comply with the guidelines stipulated or not,” he told reporters after a Kedah Menteri Besar Session with Kuala Jerlun fishing community here today.
He was commenting on the measures taken by the government on handling pollution incidents similar to Pasir Gudang, Johor.
The chemical waste dumping incident in Sungai Kim Kim which broke out on March 7, had caused more than 3,000 people and students to seek treatment while 111 schools in Pasir Gudang were ordered closed.
Meanwhile Mukhriz said the time has come for the government to impose stiffer punishments on polluters so that the chemical waste incident would not recur.
“We want firm actions, otherwise these irresponsible parties will continue to pollute, summonses of RM5,000 and RM10,000 is no longer punitive enough as they could reap more than that in a day, we have to really punish and sent a message to others not to do so,” he said.
In the same programme, Mukhriz who is Jerlun MP presented temporary occupation licence (TOL) to 99 residents to occupy government land for almost 50 years in Kuala Jerlun.
He said with the TOL, residents can legally occupy the government land and later apply for grants. — Bernama
