Sungai Pinang, once considered to be one of the filthiest rivers in the country, is now a Class III river.
Not so long ago, it was Class V – a dead river. The 3.2km river is fed by half a dozen tributaries covering a 51 sq km basin, one of the most polluted in the country.
This is what one USM study a few years ago concluded:
Water quality of Sungai Pinang River Basin can be classified as very polluted. The result shows that almost of the parameter tested on the water samples fall down to Class V. It was identified that the main sources of pollution are from domestic sewage, waste from animal husbandry areas and industrial wastes. Soil erosion from construction site and urban runoff are also identified as sources of pollution within the study area. Pollutant prevention and environmental education to citizens should be implemented.
Since October 2010, when MPPP and IWK spent RM120000 to connect the waste discharge system from an abattoir at River Road directly to the IWK waste treatment plant in Jelutong, the river water quality has improved to Class III.
What can be done to turn it into a Class I river? For a start, all sources of pollution in the basin must be identified and removed, and offenders first educated and later penalised, if it comes to that. Continuous testing, spot checks and surveillance must be undertaken.
Find out how Singapore cleaned up its own 3km-long river over 10 years from 1977 to 1987. Their clean up was part of a comprehensive plan that looked at housing, industrial workshops along the river, sewage and daily refuse collection. Polluting activities and industries by the river were removed while dredging cleared tons of debris piled up over the years on the river bed.
Can this not be replicated in Penang? I don’t see why not. While it’s good to see Datuk Keramat assemblyman Jagdeep Singh Deo thinking along those lines, the clean-up needs to involve multiple agencies and the public. But first there needs to be a comprehensive action plan for the entire river basin
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Kita undi/pilih MP bukan untuk jaga longkang atau sungai !!!
Buat lah kerja yang constructive !!!
Like khang tau constructive? No, those days are long gone…definitely, after the latest stunt. Ask any Penangite. Tak nak to Grek-can.
GK.
Go jump into the Sungai Pinang from the Jelutong Bridge.
Good for your health and washes away your Barang Naiki Syndrome by the sins if not by the tons.
And don’t forget to measure the cleanliness of the river by going for an immediate lung checkup at your fancy 8-star private hospital.
Not just washes away his barang naik syndrome but also the 70% syndrome for the government to adjust the NEP to everything and be raised to 70% to reflect the bumi population in Malaysia. This fellow is just a total …
Ah Yang, tolong ka ah soon kong…
(Please tell Ah Soon don’t be angry lah!) …
Hello GK, kita undi wakil rakyat bukan untuk jaga long kang.Tetapi kalau bukan wakil rakyat membawa ke atasan, siapa agaknya mahu membersihkan.
Selepas 18 tahun, Gerakan menjadi kerajaan negeri, sungai itu terbiar sahaja.
GK tak nampak kah, ada perubahan. Mengaku sahaja lah!
firstly penangites must learn not to throw rubbish around !
There are now many bins provided at strategic locations easily reached and the school must inculcate civic consciousness among the young !
Otherwise, the rivers can get polluted easily as well.
I remember Gelakan has talked so much to rehabilitate Sungai Pinang yet nothing concrete happened (funds not enough to meet the contractors sub sub sub ?) !
At least we are seeing positive results of Sungai Pinang. A significant change is taking place with present leadership. No doubt about that.
No amount of cleaning will help if people still throw rubbish merrily on the road and to the drain.
Civic consciousness is lacking among Malaysians.
The ‘Cintai Sungai’ Kita campaign on TV is ineffective because people shun FNM messages as they are deemed to be politically motivated.
Malaysians are like Mainland Chinese, totally lack of public civility.
I saw many highly “educated” people litter the public space without a remorseful feeling.
It can easily turn to class 1 if the state government know how to implementing low impact development. With LGe in charge, it will remain a pipe dream. LGe is not only stupid, he also the most stubborn politician who refuse to listen and learn. Only when election is near, on consideration of winning an election will he give in as in the case of Bayan bay land reclamation. The only way to make LGe listen is to short the term of government from 5 years to 3 years. Better still if we can have election annually then majority of… Read more »
Ah Soon Khor
What can we do if you do not stand for election and face him? We will support you and give you a chance to turn Penang into the world’s paradise island. Go for it otherwise all those whinging and it is bad for the heart clouded by hatred.
My brother Ah Soon
Regardless of what faith we believe in, HATERD (even from scientific psychology aspects) generates negativity that could bring back fortunes (bad health) in the future.
So I sincerely hope you can turn hatred into positive force of LOVE to accumulate merits for more positive influence on the development of Penang.
Peace & joy to the world with positive karma in the making….
Did Gerakan listen????? They had 18 years of ‘goyang kaki and cari khang-thow’. So let Pakatan work their wonders, ok?
Typical post from this nasty, lonely and bitter soul. Cowards like him hurl insults from a distance…. If he was truly smart he would engage with others in meaningful dialogue or debates instead of his usual syiok sendiri posts. Pathethic….cyber squatting on Anil’s site.
Someone has to play black role unlike you hiding your name in internet.
You are a true coward, not him.
Sometimes i wish the state govt would really focus on an environmental project rather treating it as a PR move. Take the EM Mudball initiative. Back in 2008, the Penang community came together to make over 1million mud balls. Whether the technology works is still a question mark but success at the Seto Inland Sea (http://youtu.be/xnHQ56wYHf8) and somewhat improvement of Sungai Kelian in Penang makes it plausible. Unfortunately, the state govt decided to use these mudballs mainly at Gurney Drive where the open seas i feel reduces the effects greatly. Also by making it a once a year event doesn’t… Read more »
There is so much good being done by the PR Govt & MPPP on the island. Those who use the Penang Bridge would notice the stench once we cross over to the mainland. However in the last 6 months or so, the strench has totally disappeared. Rome was not built in a day, so rather than continuously hammering the State Govt (just because your BESTest of BEST visions were ignored) does not mean nothing is being done. What can be done when others now find Penang a great place and want to buy a Holiday Condo here? Many of these… Read more »