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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian authorities on Saturday (September 5) detained four factory managers for six days who are suspected of being involved in a case of water contamination that cut off the water supply to millions of people in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
Media reports say the vehicle maintenance factory allegedly dumped used motor oil into drains that flow into Sungai Gong, one of the rivers where water is treated and then funneled to homes, industries and offices.
On Thursday (September 3), four water treatment plants in Selangor were closed.
The Bernama news agency said 1.2 million consumer accounts were affected by the closure.
Selangor Police Chief Noor Azam Jamaludin said the four suspects, aged between 50 and 60, are brothers who have been running the factory since their father’s death, Bernama reported.
Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man promised on Saturday that those responsible for the incident will be indicted in court next week.
Public anger flared in recent days, especially after learning that the same company was fined RM60,000 (S $ 19,780) in March for the same crime.
“I want to emphasize here that the ministry will not undertake to enforce the law against anyone according to legal provisions,” Datuk Tuan Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Malay Mail online.
Selangor and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur share the same water resources, supplied by rivers and reservoirs in Selangor.
Selangor and KL are the most densely populated areas in Malaysia, with about seven million people.
Images on social media show thousands of people in many areas queuing to fill buckets and bottles from tanker trucks.
Bottles of water sold in supermarkets flew off the shelves.
On social media, some members of the public questioned why the government did not shut down the company after it committed a similar crime in March.
Others want the government to close the factory permanently.
Several dozen people from Parti Islam SeMalaysia showed up in front of the factory in Rawang, Selangor, for a peaceful demonstration.
Reacting to public anger, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said on Saturday that his state government will instruct the factory to vacate the land.
“We have asked the owner to rehabilitate the land. The building has to be demolished, ”he said at a press conference, quoted by the Free Malaysia Today website.
He said the Selangor government has called for the water and electricity supply to the factory to be cut off to prevent it from resuming operations.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government should amend the 2006 Water Services Industry Act and the Environmental Quality Act to establish tougher penalties for those who pollute water sources.
“Water sources must be classified under the security of the nation. It will be brought to the cabinet,” he said in a tweet on Friday (September 4).
Officials from Pengurusan Air Selangor (Selangor Water Management) had said on Friday (September 3) that the four plants would probably only be able to serve consumers again from Monday.
But there was good news on Saturday as the company said it restarted the flow of water from its treatment plants to some homes starting at noon, the Malaysiakini news site reported.
The progressive restoration of water to consumers will take place through Monday (September 7) in 667 areas, or 51.6 percent of the total affected areas.
In the first phase, most of the affected areas within the Kuala Selangor, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur and Hulu Selangor districts will see their water restored by the end of Monday.
Most areas in the Petaling and Klang districts will only see their water restored in phase two, between Monday and Tuesday (September 7-8).
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