MELAKA, Nov 25 — The water quality in the upstream stretch of Sungai Melaka has been categorised under Class II, the State Legislative Assembly sitting was told today.

State Public Works, Transport and Public Amenities Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sofi Abdul Wahab said, however, the water quality at several stations in the downstream of the river was at Class III and Class IV.

He said in general, Sungai Melaka had not been categorised as polluted.

“Monitoring of water quality is carried out twice a month at 21 stations from the upstream of the river bordering Tampin in Negeri Sembilan to the downstream of the river.

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“The water sample taken from the river will be compared with the river water quality index based on three main classes to determine its suitability for different usages,” he said during the question-and-answer session here.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Sulaiman Md Ali (BN-Lendu) on the latest status of Sungai Melaka water quality.

Mohd Sofi said anthropogenic or human activities such as agriculture, farming and industrial were among the factors contributing to the decline in Sungai Melaka water quality.

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He said the Melaka Water Regulatory Body had also been conducting periodic monitoring in the upstream areas of Sungai Melaka.

Meanwhile, state Tourism, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said the number of tourists to Melaka increased to 9.04 million in the first six months of this year compared to 8.75 million during the same period last year.

“Domestic tourist arrivals recorded an increase of 804,912 or 14.77 per cent, however, the number of foreign tourists to the state decreased by 506,919 or 15.35 per cent.

“Over 1.14 million tourists from China visited Melaka (in the first six months of this year) making them the largest group of tourist arrivals to the state,” he said.

Muhammad Jailani said this in response to a question from Datuk Nor Azman Hassan (BN-Pantai Kundor) on the number of tourist arrivals in the state. — Bernama