Thesun 2009-04-15 Page01 10 Boycott Sitting

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No. 4738 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Wednesday April 15, 2009

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News without borders

Treatment plant sludge goes back into river by Maria J. Dass [email protected]

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Not present ... The empty seats of the absent assemblymen at yesterday’s sitting; (inset) Abdul Halim shows the threatening SMS and police report.

BERNAMAPIX

PETALING JAYA: Traces of effluents and sludge from a water treatment plant in Bukit Badong has been found in monsoon drains that flow directly into Sungai Selangor, the very river from which it draws water, a Department of Environment investigation has revealed. Acting on public complaints, the DOE conducted checks at the sludge lagoons. It has instructed Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), the builder, operator and manager of the plant, known as the Sungai Selangor Phase 2 (SSPII) Water Treatment Plant, to stop the flow of sludge into the drains. The sludge is a by-product of the water treatment process where chemicals are used to make the sediments in the water sink. This leaves a layer of sludge which is then channelled to “sludge lagoons” and thereafter to a “sludge drying bed” located on a 40ha plot. The sludge is categorised as scheduled waste as it contains heavy metals and chemicals and has to be disposed of in accordance with World Health Organisation and health standards. There are four sludge lagoons at the treatment plant located over 15ha. When contacted yesterday, Selangor DOE director Che Asmah Ibrahim confirmed that investigations are going on under the Environmental Quality Act and that the matter will be referred to the Attorney-General’s chambers for action. “We view this matter seriously because the river water being treated is the raw material used to produce clean water and it is therefore not right to pollute this very raw material,” she said. “We are not satisfied with the way the sludge from the treatment plant is being managed. “We have issued a notice to Puncak Niaga to stop the discharge of sludge and effluents into the river and if they fail to comply, we will proceed with legal action.” It is learnt DOE conducted checks

10 boycott sitting P

UTRAJAYA: Ten of the 24 Barisan Nasional assemblymen stayed away from the Terengganu state assembly sitting yesterday, fanning speculation that it was related to a bid to oust Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said. Their no-show on the second day of the three-day meeting followed police reports lodged by three of them early yesterday that they had received “death threats” via the short message service (SMS), warning them against moving a no-faith motion against Ahmad. In a swift response, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak told the assemblymen to attend today’s sitting, saying that the situation was not something unusual that could not be managed. He said it was not a full-blown political crisis. “I have spoken to (Terengganu Mentri Besar) Datuk Ahmad Said and his version was that the SMS did not emanate from his office,” he said after witnessing the signing of agreements on a loan guarantee scheme at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. Najib said the source of the SMS had yet to be verified. Answering a question, he said the assemblymen had denied that there was an attempt

to oust Ahmad, who was appointed after the general election. Zakaria Abdullah, the assemblyman for Paka and Abdul Halim Jusoh (Permaisuri) lodged reports at the Kuala Terengganu district police headquarters about 12.40am yesterday and Datuk Rosol Wahid (Ajil) lodged his at the Hulu Terengganu police Hq in Kuala Berang 10 minutes earlier, Bernama reported. Abdul Halim said that they received the SMS about 11.20pm on Monday from a person they knew after checking the number from the state government’s official diary. They were warned not to pursue their intention, believed to be a move to table a no-confidence motion against Ahmad at the current assembly meeting. BN holds 24 seats in the 32-seat assembly. The rest are held by PAS. Aside from the three who lodged police reports, the others who did not turn up for the sitting were former mentri besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh (Jertih), Muhammad Ramli Nuh (Tepuh), Mohd Zawawi Ismail (Kuala Berang), Datuk Din Adam (Bukit Besi), Alias Abdullah (Alor Limbat), Ramlan Ali (Jabi) and Mohd Pehimi Yusof (Kota Putera). Umno is divided on the issue of who should be the mentri besar, a problem that arose from

the 2008 general election. Idris was then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s pick but the Terengganu palace opposed the move. The sultan backed Ahmad for the top post and after a public standoff, Abdullah relented. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the BN assemblymen’s failure to attend the sitting will not jeopardise the position of BN as it had a sizeable majority with 24 seats compared to the Opposition’s eight. He said he had a meeting with the disgruntled assemblymen a few days ago but he had yet to be briefed on the latest update. He also said he will meet MB Ahmad to find out more. In Kuala Terengganu, Ahmad said he had no idea why the assemblymen were absent and that they had got SMS death threats. He said he was not surprised by their action and would not contact them for an explanation. “Not attending the State Assembly sitting is normal for politicians ... I will not persuade them to come (tomorrow),” he said, avoiding many questions posed to him. Asked on the senior government officer who was linked to the SMS, Ahmad said he left it to the police to act.