JOHOR GOVERNMENT IN ALL-OUT 'WAR’ AGAINST COMPANIES POLLUTING ENVIRONMENT

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- The Johor government has declared "war” against companies found to be continuously polluting the environment.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said all authorities, including the Department of Environment (DOE), have been instructed to take stern and serious action in helping the state government curb the issue.

He said it is the people who will suffer when pollution occurs, such as during the previous incident of chemical waste dumping in Sungai Kim, near Pasir Gudang, by irresponsible parties.

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"We declare war on companies that continue to pollute our environment. That is my promise to those who want to challenge us in this state,” he said when officiating at the Johor Integrated Scheduled Waste Hub (JISWH) groundbreaking ceremony here today.

Also present were Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) chief executive officer Datuk Lukman Abu Bakar and state Health and Environment Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.

Onn Hafiz said the state government is also eyeing zero river pollution by 2030, a target he believes is attainable through the construction of the JISWH, the state's first integrated scheduled waste hub.

According to him, 14 rivers were categorised as polluted in Johor in 2023, before dropping to nine the following year.

"This year, we are told that the number of polluted rivers will drop to six. As such, I am confident of the efforts put in (through the construction of the JISWH). By 2030, we want to hit our target of zero river pollution,” he said.

In 2023, Onn Hafiz was reported to have said that the water quality in 14 rivers in Johor had been categorised as the most polluted, with Sungai Kempas, Sungai Buluh, Sungai Tampoi and Sungai Pandan being among them.

-- BERNAMA