MP: Set up river protection agency
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to set up the National River Protection Authority (NRPA), which should be made part of the National Security Council.
While welcoming the federal and Selangor government’s initiative to increase fines and involve the public in cleaning up polluted rivers on World Rivers Day, Klang member of parliament Charles Santiago said this was not enough.
“We need to think beyond the Friends of the River campaign because our rivers continue to be polluted despite clean river initiatives over one and a half decades now.
“Today, a river is treated as a dumpsite by industries and communities.
“River pollution includes plastic waste, surgical face masks, ewaste, chemicals, heavy metals and industrial waste, pharmaceutical waste, sewage and effluents from livestock farms.
“River pollution is threatening our existence. Rivers provide our drinking water and water for agriculture and industries.
“It provides a habitat for marine and plant species, including fish,” he said yesterday.
The former National Water Service Commission chairman said in 2016, 200 tonnes of rubbish or municipal solid waste were dumped into rivers, drains and waterways in the country on a monthly basis.
The 2017 Malaysia Environmental Quality Report suggested that the percentage of polluted rivers had increased and none of the monitored rivers had been categorised as clean, he said.
The growing instances of river pollution had impacted water supply in Selangor, Johor and Penang, he said.
He said water treatment plants had been forced to shut down due to river pollution, resulting in huge losses in economic activity and social inconvenience.
“Rivers are under threat and need protection. An increase in fines is necessary but not sufficient.
“It’s time the government considers setting up a National River Protection Authority as a single authority in managing and coordinating river protection.”
He said the agency could, as a first step, bring together the federal agencies involved in river management under one roof.
And the NRPA could provide a platform for improved coordination between federal and state agencies for river management, he added.
Santiago said at the heart of the NRPA was the creation of a buffer on both sides of the river, and together with the river, should be classified as security zones monitored by enforcement agencies
on a 24/7 basis.
“The aim of creating such a security space is to ensure that there is no encroachment on rivers.
“It’s time to look at the pollution of our rivers as a national security issue.
“And what better day to start than on World Rivers Day?”