MANY factories are believed to be waiting for the monsoon season to dump industrial waste into drains, manholes and waterways, Kosmo reported.

       This is so they can avoid the cost of getting rid of industrial waste, the report said, quoting National Water Services Commission (SPAN) director of investigation and enforcement V. Kirupakaran.

       He said many factories, especially in the Klang Valley, are busy cleaning up their premises as they have not operated for a long time.

       “They are believed to be waiting for the monsoon season to get rid of the waste so that they are not detected by the authorities.

       “These perpetrators think that industrial waste released during the monsoon season would not cause serious pollution,” he said.

       He, however, said that the disposal of solvents such as oil and chemical in large quantities could cause serious pollution.

       “The waste that is disposed during heavy rains will not disappear despite the strong currents. In fact, the solvents can increase odour pollution,” he added. It was more worrying when chemicals or toxic waste was dumped into drains or manholes as they would end up in the rivers, he said.

       He added that they had identified eight hot spots where pollution had occurred following the dumping of waste that caused operations of four treatment plants to cease.

       On Aug 31, a food company was believed to have committed a similar offence, causing the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant to stop operations temporarily due to odour pollution.

       > The open sale of Istana Raja Muda in Teluk Intan, Perak, has caught many by surprise as it is considered to be a historical artifact that should be preserved.

       The Istana and its 2ha land had been tendered out for commercial and mixed development, reported Utusan Malaysia.

       A committee member of the Malayan Historical Society Hairul Alias said the historical building has a high value and should be protected and made an icon of Teluk Intan.

       “We are shocked and disappointed because it should be an attraction of Teluk Intan. Besides its beautiful architecture, it was the residence of the Raja Muda before.

       “In my opinion, although the building is not used anymore, it should be maintained because of its historical value,” he added.

       He was concerned that the building, which should be a landmark in the town, would disappear once the area is commercialised.

       The building, he said, should be transformed into a museum.

       ● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.