PKR rep says not responsible for MACC probe

BUKIT MERTAJAM: PKR’s Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin has denied that she was responsible for the action being taken against the carbon filter factory in Sungai Lembu.

She refuted the accusations in a Facebook post yesterday, saying that she raised complaints from her constituents.

“People have forgotten that I raised concerns about two other illegal factories operating at Jalan Tanah Liat. It took three years for them to be demolished,” she said.

Dr Norlela had been accused of initiating the action which led to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission probe as the next general election is approaching.

She added that she first visited the carbon filter factory in 2015 and had raised the issue two years ago at the state assembly.

On Friday, State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh was detained after he had given his statement at the MACC office in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.

On Thursday, MACC officers seized documents relating to the Kampung Sungai Lembu factory from the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP).

The MACC and several enforcement agencies also raided the factory Thursday, following complaints from villagers who feared fumes from the factory could affect their health.

The carbon filter-processing factory has been operating on agricultural land inside an oil palm estate for more than 10 years.

The operations over the illegal factory also involved officers from the Immigration Department, Department of Environment (DOE) and Inland Revenue Board (IRB).