TASEK GELUGOR: The Environment and Water Ministry has asked the Environment Department (DoE) and National Water Services Commission (SPAN) to investigate claims of possible swine manure flowing into Sungai Kreh here.
Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said he had received a complaint on the matter.
"I received a viral complaint of pig discharge flowing into Sungai Kreh. I have asked both the DoE as well as SPAN to look into the complaint.
"The DoE will liaise with the Veterinary Services Department (VSD) for further action," he said in a posting on his official Facebook page.
The posting was accompanied by an over two minute video of what appeared like swine manure flowing into the murky Sungai Kreh.
It was shared by more than 660 people and the video had been viewed more than 50,000 times since it was being uploaded.
It also received more than 350 comments, with netizens urging the minister to take swift and immediate action to solve the issue, which had been plaguing nearby villagers for nearly four decades now.
Some also called for harsher punishment, stressing that environmental pollution was a crime.
Shukri Suhaimi, who commented on the posting, said the issue had persisted for nearly 40 years.
"I hope this problem can be solve speedily. Pity the villagers in Tasek Gelugor, Kampung Selamat who had to live with the problem every day," he said.
Asyraf Asy, also shared Shukri's sentiment, saying that the stench in the river became unbearable whenever it rained.
"It is not the villagers who rear the pigs but they have to bear the consequences.
"Hopefully, the DoE and VSD will take serious action," he added.
For Roszami Muda, a mere fine will not serve as a deterrent.
"The culprits should be given maximum jail sentence. Environmental pollution is a crime," he stressed.
There are at least 74 pig farms with more than 100,000 pigs being reared near Kampung Selamat have been blamed for polluting Sungai Kreh for nearly 40 years now.
On Aug 23, Tuan Ibrahim's political secretary, Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki, visited the Sungai Kreh pumphouse in Kampung Tok Bedu here to look into the problem before reporting back to the minister.
During his visit, Mohd Zuhdi had said the only solution now was to close the pig farms until a long-term solution could be found.
He said there should be efforts to stop pig farm operations until operators were committed towards zero discharge.
Zuhdi also said that the ministry had been receiving memorandum after memorandum on the problem from various quarters.
When the New Straits Times visited Sungai Kreh then, and thereafter, there was water discharged into Sungai Kreh, which was black in colour and emanating a foul stench.
According to the Penang Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), Sungei Kreh remains a "Class V" or a dead river, meaning it was heavily polluted with no water flow.
The Penang government had passed a law in 2016 requiring all pig farmers to practice a closed farming method but this had not been adhered to.
In July, state Agriculture Committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin had said that the culprits were not the pig farmers but the extensive use of fertilisers by other farming communities.
Under the Penang Pig Farming Enactment 2016, farmers who flout the strict guidelines face maximum three years' jail or RM30,000 fine or both, upon conviction.
There are 156 pig farms in the state rearing about 350,000 animals.
