SHAH ALAM, Sept 4th: Any individuals or companies that pollute the environment will not only have to pay for the costs of damage caused by their actions, but must also bear the costs of recovery from the pollution as well.
Such is the proposal by the State Government to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment so as to enforce the principles ordained in the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim firmly expressed his opinion that the move was necessary to prevent cases like the recent oil-dumping in Sungai Selangor, which had caused severe distress on more than 899,931 of Klang Valley residents last week, from recurring ever again.
“The enforcement of environmental laws in this country should be increased, seeing as cases of contamination keep happening because of frequent negligence,” said Tan Sri Khalid at a press conference in the state capital.
The irresponsible actions by the factory operators that caused contamination and a severe damage to the environment and the livelihoods of the state have been grabbing headlines since last week.
Previously, the State Government had said that the Federal Government should make a joint effort with Selangor to combat ‘rogue’ environment activities.
In the meantime, Abdul Khalid said the State Government along with agencies and local authorities will continue to work together to prevent another river pollution from happening again.
“The State Government has directed all local authorities to freeze all applications for carrying out any forms of activities in the river reserve with immediate effect,” said Khalid Ibrahim.
All local authorities have been instructed to monitor all activities in the area, particularly in the river reserve for any unlicensed activities.