KUALA LUMPUR – Allowing members of the public to sue water polluters may be part of the solution to Selangor’s long-running problem of supply disruption, said experts.
Lawyer Derek Fernandez, in the Selangor Water Supply Crisis webinar today, suggested that statutory rights be given to the people to take legal action, enabling them to act as enforcers.
Threats to water security must be regarded as a national security matter, he said.
“If we treat water security as a national security issue, we would then have the framework for how action should be taken.
“If we look at Covid-19 and how it has been handled, it shows a genuine will to tackle the problem. The framework was set because the leadership took this as a national issue. Water needs the same approach.”
Gurdial Singh, also a lawyer, pointed to former water, land and natural resources minister Datuk Xavier Jayakumar’s efforts to revamp the Environmental Quality Act 1974, to allow the public to go to court over supply cuts.
“All the while under the Environmental Quality Act, we would have to wait until pollution occurred, and only then take action to enforce it. Although (the revamp) has not been approved by the new ministry, it would give the right to everyone to deal with and enforce (against) any dereliction of duty.
“Secondly, the revamp would compel businesses to recycle waste, which means businesses cannot dump pollutants.”
Former National Water Services Commission chairman Charles Santiago reiterated his call for bigger buffer zones near rivers.
“We need to extend the buffer zones, and declare these areas a matter of national security. And to do that, we would need a river protection authority, and move factories in these zones to another area, if they are legal.”
The Klang MP said if he were the Selangor menteri besar or a minister, his first task would be managing scheduled waste.
“The first thing I would do as menteri besar or minister would be to regulate scheduled waste management. Dumping must be regulated and monitored.
“Put trackers on the tankers and vehicles that carry this waste. I remember an incident in Klang where a tanker carrying rubber waste dumped it into a hole. A pipe snapped and leaked the waste into a drain, ending up in Sg Klang.”
Global Environment Centre director Faizal Parish said the protection of water catchment areas is key to resolving Selangor’s water woes.
He said the authorities must begin by mapping out the areas deemed a high pollution risk.
“If we know where these areas are, we can take proper enforcement measures and monitor like they do in China.
“In China, 20 years ago, they had similar problems. They then implemented a system where targeted factories had to put a device in their outlets, which would send data constantly to enforcement authorities. If a pollutant is released, an alarm would notify the authorities.”
The webinar, conducted via Zoom, discussed the causes of water pollution and supply disruption, and potential solutions to these problems. – The Vibes, November 21, 2020
