Too tired to write over water issues

Frankly, I'm tired to write over water issues. Water problems have been plaguing me and I'm sure many Malaysians for as long as we can remember.

I recall collecting water into my mom's squarish tupperware positioning it under the last drops at the kitchen sink when I was in standard one - and that was in 1979.

When I was in boarding school between 1985 to 1989 in Raub, Pahang, I can't honestly remember how many times we students plundered the wells of the kind villagers to bathe.

My fellow "pelajar berasrama penuh" even clambered into the 2 metre deep "kolah air" at the mosques to wash depriving worshippers of their ablution.

When I was in university in Skudai, Johor, between 1990 and 1994, the water supply was somewhat consistent. But I was greeted by the foul smelling, gunk filled Sungai Segget flowing right smack in the middle of Johor Bahru. But to be fair, Sungai Segget is much nicer looking now.

And now in my working adult life and nearing retirement? 

The water floundering persists with the recent one in Sungai Kim Kim, Johor and the just ended Sungai Gong, Rawang. And all this water quagmire happening right here in rain deluged Malaysia.
 

And the circus repeats itself with the same old jaded media statements.

"Lack of enforcement, not enough manpower, inadequate laws..yadda yadda yadda....

When will this end? I'm now 48 years old and still the water pollution clings on.

A majority of the water scourge happens in Selangor simply because there are countless factories in the state.

However some statements by the authorities did stand out. The Association of Water and Energy Research proposed that any company found guilty of polluting water sources should be declared bankrupt.

I don't know whether that is legally possible but it sounds like a dandy idea. Let's make it happen.

Another suggestion was to declare river banks as high security areas. The authorities should build high walls along strategic rivers and declare it as protective zones. Another dashing idea, but I don't think it will be popular among the anglers.

Other than these two breakthrough ideas, I sincerely do not think that any measures undertaken by state governments will make any difference.

An amendment to Selangor laws to increase penalty to RM1 million from RM500,000 is commendable.

But it wouldn't deter the flouting either because RM1 million is chicken feed for these businessmen who make hundreds of millions a year.

Some Malaysians just don't care less and their lack of apathy is apalling..

A portion of the rakyat and factory owners dump their garbage and their faeces right into the river and treat it as their own private landfill.

Another aspect that observed during this yet again perpetually never ending water disruption is that some districts are not affected because their dams and reservoirs are interconnected with their neighbouring districts.

As an example, Putrajaya folks are not affected as they can source their water from neighbouring Sungai Semenyih.

When I was bureau chief in Negeri Sembilan, the districts do not have serious water issues as their dams are interconnected with each other such as between Linggi and Rembau.

And areas in Selangor which are nearer to the Pahang border are unaffected as they can get their water from Sungai Pahang via the Langat Dua water treatment plant.

Areas further away from the plant such as Port Klang are the most severely affected.
 

There were other good proposals highlighted in the media too. Among them is a report frontpaged by a Malay daily that local council officers should be given the authority to shut down polluting factories.

This is a good idea as this can help alleviate the work burden shouldered solely by the Department of Environment who incessantly complains lack of manpower to carry out enforcement activities.

Another proposal is the setting up of a single agency whose task is just to monitor our rivers. To be honest, I'm not optimistic with these measures.

I'm just wearied and numb with all these news of water pollution over the past few decades.

Some Malaysians and businessmen just don't care and their lack of apathy is notorious and they treat the rivers as their private dumping ground for their garbage and faecal matter.

I saw on television last week on how the rivers were pristine clear with fishes bobbing about in Hulu Langat.

However, trek downstream to Kuala Langat, the river's complexion turns into "teh tarik". And now, the Sungai Gong in Rawang water episode is over when water supply fully resumed on Wednesday.

Will this be the last water crisis? I highly doubt so.    - DagangNews.com                      

ZAIDI ISHAM ISMAIL is former NST Business Assistant Editor.