Clear fish carcasses from Sarawak river, stench a health hazard — Voon

KUCHING: The stench from the rotting fish carcasses along a stretch of the Sarawak river at the city centre here is a health hazard to the public, says Sarawak special officer to the federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government Voon Shiak Ni.

In response to the mysterious discovery of a large number of dead fish a few days ago, she said the public wants the relevant authorities to clear the carcasses from the river as soon as possible.

“The problem here is that the fish carcasses have yet to be cleared from the river, and the stench from it could serve as a potential health hazard especially towards members of the public.

“We are given to understand that investigations by the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) are currently ongoing, but the report has yet to come in and the cause of what killed the fish is unknown,” she said in a press statement yesterday.

Voon urged that the carcasses be cleared first while waiting for the result of the investigation.

According to her, there were a few similar incidences over the past few years where large numbers of fish mysteriously ended up dead, and called for the cause of the problem to be identified and made known to the public.

“Similar cases were reported at Kuching Reservoir Park last year, a man-made lake at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak ( Unimas) in 2017, and along a few sections of the river under the Tun Salahuddin Bridge in Pending, all of which involved fish that were found dead.

“Our nation has just witnessed the dreaded disaster involving Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang, Johor which was polluted with chemical waste.

“Water pollution can be prevented as many are due to the acts of irresponsible people who either lack civic-mindedness or are unaware of the dangers of dumping waste in rivers,” she said.