JOHOR BARU: Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said the recent chemical dumping incident in Pasir Gudang, which affected the health of residents in the area, shows the need for a government hospital to be built there.
"I heard this is already being planned. Therefore, I hope the construction can begin as soon as possible.
"I believe Johor is among the largest contributors to the federal government's income. Therefore, it is only appropriate and fair that more allocation for development is given to Johor, especially for the upgrade of healthcare facilities, public transport and highway networks," said Sultan Ibrahim.
The ruler said this in his address at the Sultan of Johor Birthday Celebration at Dewan Singgahsana of Istana Besar here, today.
Sultan Ibrahim also expressed his sadness over the action of irresponsible parties which dumped chemical wastes into Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang.
He said they not only polluted the river and environment, but also affected the lives and health of residents in the Pasir Gudang area.
In order to ensure that the incident never happens again, Sultan Ibrahim instructed the state government to quickly implement an integrated control and enforcement action against all factories which use hazardous chemicals.
"Any factory which fails to follow regulations on the management of safety and the environment must be closed down immediately.
"And in the long-term, I want the government to review all the industries that are operating in Pasir Gudang by closing or relocating industries related to gas and explosive chemicals that can endanger residents in the area," he added.
The ruler reminded all parties to learn the lesson from the incident in Bhopal, India in 1984 which killed 3,000 and injured over 500,000, people mostly due to inhaling toxic fumes.