SPAN: Raid satellite factories too
CYBERJAYA: The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has called on the Selangor government and environmental authorities to investigate all businesses or factories involved in recycling plastic waste, specifically in areas affected by pollution, and all areas deemed as high-risk.
The call follows an inquiry into a water pollution incident in July that resulted in a disruption of water supply for a week in 1,140 areas in Selangor, which sourced water from Sungai Kuang, affecting 1,124,781 consumer accounts.
The pollution was traced back to a chemical leak of “poly (methacrylic acid)” into Sungai Kuang, a tributary of the Sungai Selangor River Basin.
SPAN chairman Charles Santiago has appealed to the Selangor government, Selayang Municipal Council and the Environment Department (DOE) to conduct inspections on all auxiliary factories in the Kuang area to determine whether they were dumping waste into tributaries that lead to Sungai Selangor.
Santiago added that while action has been taken against a foreign business operator responsible for the pollution due to illegal plastic recycling activities, there are other factories in the area carrying out similar operations.
“In 2024, SPAN recorded four out of 20 incidents of raw water pollution in Selangor that caused water treatment plants to shut down, including this incident in Sungai Kuang.
“SPAN urges the state government to lead a team composed of local authorities, DOE and Selangor Water Management Authority to carry out inspections in every factory or business premises involved in recycling plastic waste,” Santiago said during a press conference at the SPAN headquarters in Cyberjaya yesterday.
Also present were commission members Derek John Fernandez and Datuk Mohd Azmi Ismail.
On July 23, the media reported that more than 1,000 locations in seven regions in the Klang Valley experienced unscheduled water supply disruptions following the shutdown of four water treatment plants due to incidents of odour pollution in Sungai Kundang and Sungai Sembah, Selangor.
Following this, a Chinese national faced a hefty RM10mil fine and a mandatory prison sentence of up to five years for releasing chemical waste into inland waterways near the industrial area of Jalan Kampung Orang Asli in Kuang, Selangor.
He was later found guilty, sentenced to three months in prison, and fined RM240,000.
Santiago revealed that the foreign-owned company had rented the premises from a local company, which also operated two recycling operations within the same compound.
Investigations showed that the foreign company, which only had a business licence, was illegally conducting plastic recycling activities using polymethyl methacrylate (PMAA), a solvent chemical hazardous to health.
The pollution in Sungai Kuang in July was traced back to an estimated three tonnes of PMAA leaking from the foreign company’s premises into the drains, which then flowed into a tributary called Sungai Lampan Yu.
Santiago said the inquiry also discovered that the local company had illegally diverted Sungai Lampan Yu to run through its compound.
The findings released yesterday underlined that the primary tenant of the implicated premises, possessing a valid business licence, allowed a sub-tenant to operate without the local authority’s knowledge.
This tenant also permitted the sub-tenant to use their approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report without the DOE’s consent.
The report also proposed improvement measures and recommendations, including strengthening law enforcement by conducting physical inspections for all new applications and business licence renewals.
The report also encouraged DOE to undertake regular, targeted inspections to ensure compliance with approved EIA reports.
It also said it is essential to tighten waste discharge controls into rivers and conduct a detailed review of authorities under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.
The Companies Act 1965 should have stricter stipulations when it comes to incorporating companies, particularly those owned by foreigners, according to the report.
Importers must comply with the criteria set in the Plastic Waste Import Licence and conform to the Environmental Quality Act 1974, it added.
The report said importers should also carry out Environmentally Sound Management of plastic waste recycling activities, and stronger supervision and enforcement of Approved Permit holders are necessary to prevent licence misuse.
