9 September 2020

Press statement by MCA Youth Spokesperson Jacob Lee Yee Yuan

Selangor state govt’s eyes wide shut on illegal factories: Will water supplies dry up in the next 300 years?

Selangor state and the Klang Valley face the unwelcome prospect of water reserves drying up in the next 300 years!

The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) recently revealed that the factory suspected of contaminating Sungai Gong has been operating without a licence since 2014. Such shocking news is difficult to stomach as to why an illegal factory has been allowed to operate for 6 years without any enforcement taken? Is the Pakatan-led Selangor state government pretending to be ignorant or deliberately withholds disclosing such information?

It is incumbent on the Selangor state government to explain to the rakyat as to whether it is aware of the existence of illegal factories. If it was in the know but failed to take action, were there any corrupt practices, bribery and collusion between the state authorities and the related commercial enterprises? An investigation must be launched immediately!

If the Selangor state government was in the dark, then it shows that it is incapable of governing. It failed to properly monitor the operations of the many factories. As the unlicensed factory was allowed to operate for 6 years and with this ignorance-is-bliss attitude by the state authorities, it comes as no wonder that the situation eventually regressed to a mega-scale unscheduled water disruption in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, affecting the daily lives of up to a reported 5 million people!

Even more stunning, MPS revealed that there are 308 illegal factories operating within Selayang alone, and the factory which has been sealed off, is merely one of them!

If a singular unlicensed factory is sufficient to inflict massive water disruptions across the entire Klang Valley, imagine how much damage will be exacted by more than 300 illegal factories over the next 300 years? This matter is exacerbated as there are other illegal factories beyond this one Selayang area alone. Aren’t the residents Selangor and Kuala Lumpur being forced to live in anxiety every single minute and second over the risk of an unannounced water cut overs an unknown number of days? Such a scenario is simply unacceptable by any rakyat!

Jacob Lee Yee Yuan

MCA Youth Spokesperson

-MCA Online-