JOHOR BARU: The chemical odour that enveloped three residential areas in Kampung Melayu Pandan here is noticeably less today.
Residents have begun going about their daily activities as usual, and the Sekolah Agama Kampung Melayu Pandan which was closed due to the foul odour yesterday, was operating today.
A visit to the village found that the strong chemical smell, especially near Sungai Pandan, has reduced.
Kampung Melayu Pandan Residents Association chairman Mohd Fauzi Mohamad said the situation had improved, and there was no bad smell in most areas.
"The smell is different from yesterday. Today, residents can go out for a meal at the shops. The smell is slight and only obvious if you are near the river.
"The teachers at the kindergarten can enter the kindergarten to clean up the premises. Yesterday, the smell was so strong, that a teaching assistant vomited. Today, the religious school is open.
"We have been informed that there is no major impact so everything is back to normal. I hope the authorities can track down the perpetrators as soon as possible.
''We still do not know what substance was thrown into the river to cause such a foul smell," he said.
Tabika Kemas Jalan Masjid teacher Siti Noor Azliza Abd Aziz, 39, said as a precautionary measure, the kindergarten students have been given an additional day off.
"Yesterday the smell was very strong. Alhamdulillah, the students are in good health, and we have asked them to attend school tomorrow wearing face masks.
"Some of the teachers had a headache yesterday because the location of the kindergarten is right next to Sungai Pandan. Today we came to clean the classrooms and found the smell has reduced," she said.
Yesterday, Johor State Health and Environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said that the state Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that the odour pollution is believed to have been caused by chemicals.
Ling said water and soil samples had been taken by the department for analysis and showed the presence of chemicals.
"Although the pH levels of the water tested were normal, there is evidence of high concentration of chemicals in Sungai Pandan," Ling told a press conference at the site yesterday.
"The chemical substance's specific nature is unknown but recorded high concentration levels that exceeded typical levels,'' he said.