Najib: Govt Made Unwise Decision of Not Allocating Money to Clean Polluted Johor River

Lately, the chemical pollution in Pasir Gudang, Johor has worsened as many people have been admitted to the hospital due to breathing difficulties, nausea and vomiting. Yesterday (13 March 2019), 111 schools were reportedly shut down because more and more students were suffering from the chemical pollution in Kim Kim river.

While the authorities are taking necessary measures to deal with the situation, Datuk Seri Najib Razak took to Facebook to give his two cents on the matter. In his post, Najib pointed out that the government has made an unwise decision by not allocating money to clear the chemical spilling in the river.

He made that comment by quoting a statement from the Fire and Rescue Department’s director-general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid.

Source: malaysiakini

If you didn’t know, the director-general said that the authorities didn’t throw away the chemicals after they concluded that it wasn’t reactive. He was quoted by The Malay Mail as saying,

“This was not a good decision. By right, it should have been disposed earlier. Due to the current hot weather, the chemical emitted hazardous fumes again, which then spread via wind and made more people sick.”

The director-general further added that his department couldn’t clean the river because it was “beyond its purview”. However, he shared that the cost to dispose the chemicals is quite high and probably, that is the reason it wasn’t cleared.

Source: the world news

Therefore, Najib pointed out that the decision to not clean the river was quite unwise as the pollution became worse. A snippet of his Facebook post reads,

“Due to this unwise decision, 111 schools were forced to close down for an uncertain period of time. Due to this decision, over 500 people have become victims including school children.”

“It’s quite clear that PH (Pakatan Harapan) gives more importance to money compared to life and health (of the people).”

Najib further questioned PH’s method of dealing with the crisis. He also advised the current government not to gamble with the lives and health of the public, especially the victims. He finally said,

“The well-being and safety of the rakyat should be of utmost priority. Do not repeat the same mistake again.”

You can read the whole post here: 

Following Najib’s comment, Johor’s Menteri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian said that the government is taking the necessary steps to clean the river. He said that the government has allocated RM6.4 million to clean the Kim Kim river. On top of that, the government has taken measures to help the victims, victims’ families and the officers that are on-duty too. Good thing! 

Well, we hope that the authorities will work quickly to solve this matter as the gas poisoning in Pasir Gudang is getting worse. That said, we wish all the victims affected by the chemical pollution a speedy recovery.

Also read: Ambulance Driver in ICU After Saving Over 30 Sick School Kids in Pasir Gudang, Hailed A Hero