Authorities push for legislation change after Johor River pollution

JOHOR, Nov 3: Federal and state authorities in Malaysia have told Channel NewsAsia they would like to fast track legislation to de-conflict jurisdiction when it comes to tackling water pollution.

This comes after a chicken farm and its fertiliser factory disrupted water supply to an estimated 1.8 million people in Johor for the second time in less than a year.

Three water treatment plants near the Johor River, including PUB’s Johor River Waterworks, were forced to shut down last weekend due to high ammonia levels caused by improperly stored chicken manure fertiliser which  was being produced at a rate of 40 tonnes a day, according to officials.

Authorities at both the state and federal levels said they had issued several warnings before the state government announced the closure of both the chicken farm and fertiliser factory on Wednesday.

According to Dr Zaki Zainuddin, a quality and modelling specialist, the delay in firm action by authorities reflects a problem of overlapping jurisdiction and a “disconnect” in pollution management that applies across Malaysia.

The problem of issuing permits for manure processing facilities is one example.

Johor’s Veterinary Services Department director Dr Aida Muhid told Channel NewsAsia on Thursday (Nov 2) that while the chicken farm that was forced to shut had a permit to operate, the fertiliser factory had not been issued one.

Dr Aida said that it was not clear whether the authority to issue the permit to the factory belonged to the Veterinary Department or the Agriculture Department.

“It’s quite difficult to differentiate that because it’s considered quite a grey area … That has not been resolved yet,” she told Channel NewsAsia.

Dr Aida intends to resolve this by fast tracking planned legislation so that the licensing of manure processing plants will fall under her department within six months.

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