IN a state where the mere mention of water rationing is enough to give consumers nightmares, water disruptions are causing losses amounting to millions of ringgit a day to industries that use a lot of the life-sustaining liquid.
For this reason, industry players are calling for hefty penalties, including mandatory imprisonment, for those responsible for contamination that causes water treatment plants to shut down, resulting in unscheduled water cuts.
They also want courts to force water polluters to compensate manufacturers and businesses for their losses.
Commenting on the latest water cut that affected some 1.2 million account holders in the Klang Valley after four Sungai Selangor water treatment plants were forced to shut down due to industrial effluent pollution, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said it supports calls for an increase in penalties to serve as a deterrent to polluters.
MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan told Nanyang Siang Pau in its report yesterday that in previous cases, companies responsible for industrial effluent pollution were only fined.
“The authorities concerned should view the matter more seriously now.”
“Factories which suffer losses as a result of water cuts should be compensated. The authorities can consider pressing for heftier fines and compensation in courts.”
Shamsuddin also reminded companies or factories to treat their effluents properly to protect water sources.
SME Association of Malaysia president Datuk Michael Kang Hua Keong proposed not only increasing fines but also including a jail term for those found guilty of polluting water sources.
He said some factories had to stop production due to the water cut.
“For factories like those involved in food processing that need a large amount of water, the stoppage of production lines means spoilage of raw materials and a drop in production capacity.”
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Selangor branch chairman Jacob Lee Chor Kok said in the latest water cut, he received “an SOS” from a member seeking the immediate delivery of two tanker-loads of water to his factory.
He said the member, whose factory manufactures semi-conductors, claimed that previous water disruptions had caused him to lose RM3 million a day in revenue.
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