PENGUNJUNG SETIA

24 April 2008

MUD DUMPING AFFECTS FISHERMEN'S LIVELIHOOD

Mud dumping affects fishermen’s livelihood
By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH


MUAR: About 200 fishermen of Kampung Parit Karang and Kampung Kesang Laut here want the local authority to act against an excavation company for dumping sludge in the sea off their villages.

The group, led by Kampung Kesang Laut Fishermen’s Association chairman Samah Molok, appealed to Ledang MP Hamim Samuri to look into their plight.

Samah claimed the dumping had been going on since January after the company was given a contract to deepen the Muar River estuary.

Outlining their woes: Kampung Parit Karang fisherman Mohd Najib Ahmad (second from left) and Samah (left) showing a map of coastal areas affected by the dumping to Hamim (right) in Muar recently.
“We have lodged complaints with the relevant authorities, including the Department of Environment, but nothing has been done.

“Everybody here can see a barge dumping mud from the Muar River estuary into the coastal areas,” he told Hamim during his visit to the village.

Hamim said he would raise the matter with the state and the relevant authorities as the dumping had affected fishing at sea off Kesang.

He said the fishermen wanted the dumping to be done several nautical miles from the shore as the sludge could pollute coastal areas.


Source: The Star Online, 24 April 2008 (The Star Online)

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