SHAH ALAM, Nov 12 — The Selangor state government has described the incidents of water pollution which caused water supply disruption to Klang Valley residents as deliberate attempts to tarnish the image of the administration.
Selangor Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state government would not give up enforcement on groups who caused much hardship to the people.
“In the latest pollution case on Tuesday, the premises suspected as the location of chemical waste dumping was believed to have rented two weeks ago. I am confident this is a deliberate action by quarters out to smear the image of the state government.
“… and I am calling on all enforcement authorities including police to cooperate as the power of the state government is limited,” he said when asked to comment on the action of the administration against the factory which was found to be polluting river in Selangor.
He told reporters after opening the Deepavali E-Bazaar initiative and Selangor State Indian Entrepreneur Development Programme (Sitham) at Yayasan Hijrah Selangor here today.
Apart from that, Amirudin said the state government would also be taking several factory owners to court over polluting various sources of water.
“For example, a factory in Kundang, Rawang which is owned by an association chairman has been charged in court for committing pollution. If it was carried out by an unlicensed factory, we will order it to be closed as happened to a factory in Sungai Gong,” he said.
Selangor and Klang Valley experienced a series of water supply disruptions this year due to river pollution with the latest incident on Tuesday in which the people vented their anger through social media.
In this regard, on the Deepavali E-Bazar, Amirudin said it is a symbolic activity created to assist Indian entrepreneurs to market their products in conjunction with the festival following cancellation of the physical bazaar due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In this regard, the state government launches the Deepavali E-Bazar with the cooperation of online platforms such the Selangor Digital E-Supply Chain (Seldec), KoHijrah Mall, and Meniaga.my, to market the products and generate income during the festive season,” he said.
At the same event, Amirudin also presented 2020 Sitham equipment grants to 175 recipients.
He said the Sitham grant in the form of equipment valued at a maximum RM10,000 each was presented to eligible applicants to develop their business.
— Bernama
