Special committee to tackle river pollution

Posted on April 20, 2012, Friday

PENAMPANG: A special task force will be set up to find the best way to tackle river pollution, especially in suburban areas of Kota Kinabalu city, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said the state cabinet ordered for the setting up of the committee following a study by the Environment Protection Department which found that Sungai Inanam, Sungai Likas and Sungai Darau were polluted.

“I’m quite alarmed by the finding; so it’s only proper for us to find ways to at least lessen the impact to the tourism industry,” he told reporters after opening SMK Peter Mojuntin’s “Hari Ekspo Lestari” — an environmental awareness programme.

Masidi said the setting up of the committee, which would convene its first meeting soon, demonstrated the government’s commitment to seeing the success of its urban cleanliness programme, which covers rivers in suburban areas.

He said that although there was an improvement in terms of cleanliness, particularly in Kota Kinabalu city, there was still much that could be done.

Masidi pointed out that main issue was educating the people on the need to keep the environment clean.

“We need to impress upon the people living in the hinterland that what you throw in the rivers is what we get in the town and what we get in the town is what the tourists will complain about. It is as simple as that,” he added.

Masidi in his speech pointed out that the commitment of a school and its students is very important when it comes to conservation of the environment.

“Cleanliness is part of environmental conservation,” he said, adding that conserving Sabah’s environment is very important as it is one of the reasons why tourists visit Sabah.

Masidi however lamented that one of the problems faced by the state’s tourism sector was environmental pollution as the rivers and sea are in a sorry state.

He said that the level of pollution of the state’s rivers and seas is at a worrying and critical level, and added that the cause is the lack of public awareness on the importance of having a clean environment.

Masidi also reminded the public that City Hall and the local authorities are not duty bound to clean them as it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the cleanliness of the state.

According to Masidi, he had received many complaints from tourists and most are about the cleanliness or lack of it in Sabah.

As tourism is one of the main contributors to the state’s economy, it is important to ensure that tourists will continue to visit the state because if they stop coming, the effect will be devastating to Sabahans.

“The tourism industry employs 90 per cent locals, most of whom will lose their jobs if tourists stop coming to Sabah. Others who will be affected are the taxi drivers and business community so we must not give the tourists reason to complain,” he stressed.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/04/20/special-committee-to-tackle-river-pollution/#ixzz1sYQAhfol

Green Sabah says: Water is a not a renewable resource anymore, experts believe that in a few years humans are going to be facing a major lack of clean water, making it crucial for our society to rethink our water usage and waste disposal methods and do something about them before is to late.