“Not a natural phenomenon” – NGO Suspects Kajang River Poisoning as Large Number of Fish Found Dead

An environmental conservation organisation is calling for the Department of Environment (DOE) to investigate the potential poisoning of a river in Kajang, after a large number of dead fish and a snake were discovered there.

Jejak Air Tawar took to its Facebook page to showcase images of the dead animals while explaining its belief that the incident is unlikely to be caused by natural phenomena, citing the presence of a dead snake as evidence.

The organisation wrote, “I received information that many fish have died suddenly in Sungai Ramal, Kajang, today, and a snake carcass was also found. There is a possibility that the water in this river has been severely polluted; it is likely not a natural phenomenon because even the snake is dead.”

“Sungai Ramal flows into Sungai Langat. This situation is worrying because in Sungai Langat itself, there is often pollution from several sources,” the statement added.

Invasive species vs local species

Jejak Air Tawar went on to explain how local fish species survived the incident, while the fish that died are considered invasive.

The organisation shared:

“The fish that are seen are all invasive fish, namely Tilapia, Bandaraya (Suckermouth Catfish), Lampam Jawa and Jaguar Cichlid. There are no sights of local species except for the snake, which is a python.

“But, as far as I remember, in this river, there are still local fish such as Puyu and Haruan in small populations. Perhaps they have not yet succumbed because both are known to be more resilient than the Bandaraya fish.”

Jejak Air Tawar ended its post by requesting that the general public forward any information regarding this matter so that it can urge the DOE to investigate and take appropriate action.

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