Beefing up environs protection in Johor

Johor government will establish a special inter-agency committee to address environmental issues in the state.

Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said it would comprise officers from Environment Department (DOE), local councils and related agencies.

“The committee will meet regularly to discuss and deal with environmental issues together,” he said in his Facebook page after making a surprise visit to Johor DOE office where he was briefed on its roles and responsibilities.

Ling said there was urgent need for more enforcement personnel in the department.

“There are 8,772 factories in Johor, which fall under the supervision of DOE.

“However, at the moment, the number of DOE personnel is not sufficient to monitor these factories all the time.

“The owners and public also need to be responsible and play their respective roles to ensure the cleanliness of our environment,” he added.

Ling noted that 14 rivers in Johor had alarming pollution index scores, and action must be taken to improve their water quality.

He said DOE must continue to strengthen supervision of rivers and raise awareness to ensure incidents such as the pollution of Sungai Kim Kim did not happen again.

“The DOE is responsible for monitoring and managing industrial waste produced by various sectors in the country.

“It also needs to ensure that factory operations and emissions meet waste disposal control standards,” he stressed.

In addition, Ling said DOE played a role as professional assessor and advisor to ensure sustainable development and to protect the environment.

The department is also responsible for licensing operations for high-risk factories involving palm oil, rubber production, and chemical processing.

Ling said that in the event of an unexpected environmental accident such as a chemical or oil spill, DOE would be held accountable as this was under the department’s purview.

“Apart from supervision and law enforcement, DOE needs to raise awareness and advocacy to ensure that the public has an understanding of the importance of the environment and ecology,” he said.