SHAH ALAM: Two disused sand-mining pontoons have been removed from Sungai Selangor where there was a diesel spill recently, according to Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari.
“We were informed by Kumpulan Semesta that two pontoons which were no longer in operation in the river were removed (yesterday) following the completion of (police) investigations into the source of the river pollution in the area.
“There were only two pontoons (in Selangor) and we will set a standard operating procedure (SOP) after this for the removal of any disused pontoon from the river area,” he told reporters here today, after handing over 1,200 head of cattle to mosques and surau in the state in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidiladha.
Amirudin said although diesel had flowed from one of the pontoons, he believed the oil spill was due to sabotage.
“This is the first incident (oil spilling from pontoon). We cannot blame the entire system at the pontoon because there are many possible causes of pollution,” he said.
He said it appeared that the pollution was caused by oil deliberately discharged from tanks and not from leakage.
The Selangor government had earlier said that sabotage was suspected in the diesel pollution in Sungai Selangor, which forced the shutdown of four water treatment plants last Saturday.
Sabotage was suspected because the pollution occurred at a location where sand mining by a licensed contractor ceased two months ago.
Preliminary investigations showed that the outlet valve of an oil tank on the pontoon had been left open, allowing fuel to flow into the river and causing odour in the untreated water.
Amirudin also dismissed allegations that the state government had been slow in tackling the river pollution issue in Sungai Selangor.
“I think the state government’s action was fast. If we had been slow in acting, the pollutant might have flowed into the water reservoir,” he added. — Bernama
