[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) menggesa Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani (MPSPK) dan Jabatan Perhutanan menyiasat dan mengambil tindakan segera bagi mengatasi masalah pencemaran sampah sarap di kawasan hutan simpanan kekal paya bakau di Sungai Merbok, Kedah.
Tinjauan CAP di sepanjang Sungai Merbok mendapati kebanyakan sisa buangan yang dikesan di dua lokasi di Kampung Segantang Garam di sini ialah beg plastik dan botol minuman plastik.
CAP kesal masalah yang sudah berlarutan sejak empat tahun yang lalu itu gagal ditangani dengan berkesan oleh pihak berkenaan walaupun perkara ini telah beberapa kali dikemukakan oleh CAP.
Di samping menjejaskan hutan paya bakau Sungai Merbok dan ekosistem sungai tersebut, CAP bimbang pencemaran sisa buangan plastik ini akan merebak ke laut berhampiran dan mencemarkan kawasan persisiran pantai, serta mengancam aktiviti dan mata pencarian beratus nelayan yang mencari rezeki di perairan ini.
CAP percaya, jika masalah ini dibiarkan berterusan, kesan buruk ke atas alam sekitar di kawasan berkenaan dan sekelilingnya akan berlaku dengan lebih serius lagi pada masa akan datang.
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CAP berharap pihak berkuasa tempatan dan Jabatan Perhutanan Kedah menguatkuasakan undang-undang dengan tegas agar masalah ini dapat ditangani dengan berkesan dan tidak berulang.
Pemantauan lebih kerap dan berterusan perlu dilakukan oleh pihak berkuasa tempatan dan agensi berkenaan bagi memastikan keadaan Sungai Merbok dan hutan paya bakau di sini terselamat dari sebarang ancaman pencemaran.
Pihak berkuasa tempatan perlu menyediakan tong sampah yang mencukupi bagi kemudahan penduduk tempatan membuang bahan buangan mereka serta meletakkan lebih banyak papan tanda larangan membuang sampah di kawasan ini.
CAP mencadangkan kempen tentang bahaya plastik dan sisa dilaksanakan oleh pihak kerajaan dari masa ke semasa bagi memupuk kesedaran kalangan masyarakat tentang kesan buruk bahan buangan itu kepada alam sekitar dan kehidupan manusia. – CAP
English version
CAP raises concern over the use of Sungai Merbok mangrove forest as a dumping ground
The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) urges the Municipal Council of Sungai Petani and the Forestry Department to conduct an immediate investigation and take prompt enforcement action to address the issue of solid waste dumping at the Merbok River permanent reserve mangrove forest in Kedah.
A survey conducted by CAP along the Merbok River found that most of the disposed waste detected at two locations in Kampung Segantang Garam are plastic bags and plastic water bottles.
CAP regrets that this long-standing problem, which has persisted for the past four years, has not been effectively addressed by the relevant authorities despite the matter having been raised by CAP on several occasions.
Apart from degrading the Merbok River mangrove forest and its river ecosystem, CAP is concerned over the plastic waste pollution spreading to the adjacent sea, contaminating coastal areas and threatening the activities and livelihoods of hundreds of fishers who depend on these waters for their income.
CAP believes that if this problem is allowed to persist, it will lead to even more severe environmental degradation in the affected area and its surrounding ecosystem in the future.
CAP urges the local authority and the Forestry Department of Kedah to strictly enforce the relevant laws to ensure that this issue is effectively addressed and prevented from recurring.
More frequent and continuous monitoring should be carried out by the local authority and the relevant agencies to safeguard the Merbok River and its mangrove forest from any form of pollution.
The local authority should provide an adequate number of waste bins to enable residents to dispose their waste properly and install additional signboards prohibiting littering throughout the area.
CAP also recommends that the government should conduct awareness campaigns on the dangers of plastics, plastic waste and other forms of waste to educate the public on their adverse impacts on the environment and human wellbeing. – CAP
Mohideen Abdul Kader is the president of the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP).
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