Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 15, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: No move was made to declare a state of emergency in Pasir Gudang, Johor after a debate in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday on the chemical pollution incident in the constituency.

The call for an emergency to be declared was made by Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) in his opening speech on the motion to debate the chemical pollution in the Kim Kim River.

He said it is essential for the government to make the move to facilitate purification works and medical support in the area.

However, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law) Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PH-Sepang) said the government had not received any request from the Johor state government to make such a declaration.

“For the time being, the state government thinks that it is still capable of handling the situation, so there was no request for a declaration yet, but we (federal government) are giving full support. Although there is no state of emergency, we are responding with appropriate measures as though we are in a state of emergency,” he said.

Mohamed Hanipa said the government has just approved an allocation of RM8 million for river purification work, and has ordered various agencies, including police, military and Hazardous Material Unit Team, to support the situation in Pasir Gudang.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby, Mohamed Hanipa said according to the law, the state government has to make an application for a state of emergency if it wants such a declaration.

“There are two types of states of emergency, one is the national one that all of us are familiar with, involving Article 150, the federal government can evaluate whether to go ahead or not. The other one is meant for things like disasters, for which we need the state government’s application, then we can bring it to MKN (National Security Council) to decide,” he explained.

Without a state of emergency, Mohamed Hanipa said the Johor government is still taking the leading role in the situation in Pasir Gudang.

“If it is a state of emergency, the federal government will lead the operation and take care of everything, including things like cost,” he said.

The emergency motion in the Dewan Rakyat was attended by senior ministers in the Cabinet, including Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub.

Dr Dzulkefly said between March 7 and 13 this year, there were 1,568 reported cases related to toxic fumes from the chemical pollution in Kim Kim River at Pasir Gudang. The number of out-patients is now 1,171 people, and 397 people were admitted to hospital, while 13 were treated in the intensive care unit.

There was no casualty reported so far in relation to the toxic fumes, he added.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minsiter Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the government is evaluating the seriousness of the pollution caused by disposal of chemical waste into the river before deciding on whether to declare a state of emergency, Bernama reported.

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the main focus at present in addressing the pollution problem is to complete a river purification exercise within the next one week.

“The Johor menteri besar said we are targeting to complete the purification works in seven days, but as we appoint more contractors, we hope to do it sooner than seven days,” she said.

Yeo also urged managers of businesses involving scheduled waste not to panic or dump waste, without proper procedures.

“Don’t panic and throw these scheduled wastes everywhere, because there is a proper process to dispose of them. It is not wrong to contain scheduled waste within their factory compound, it is normal. It is only illegal when they dispose of this waste at the wrong place.

“For the longer term, we will establish a review committee to look at the issue in totality from a systemic perspective, For example, tracking and monitoring of scheduled waste and the industrial area development that went out of control in Pasir Gudang and the southern part of Johor,” she said.

Dr Maszlee said a total of 111 schools in Pasir Gudang have been ordered to close until further notice.

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