Time to Say it, KUDOS! to Penang State Government.

It is definitely getting better, this river mouth of the Sungai Pinang River, a river that i was born into practically not too far from here in a small village that used to be called the Kampong Selut or Muddy Village of Sungai Pinng. This section of the river did not exist back then and the river mouth used to be about a quarter of a mile inwards where the old bridge used to be, even the old bridge is gone replaced by a new one. This river is still considered one of the most polluted river in the country, not the State mind you, the whole country!

Almost twenty years ago while I was living in Sendai. Japan, I wrote a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister back when who happened to be the present man who is going through a sodomy trial, Anwar Ibrahim. I got a reply from his office , a letter wrote directly to the then Chief Minister of Penang demanding that my letter was answered appropriately, but the answer never came not after a few months when i happen to visit the island again and I raised the issue. The letter was my offer to spearhead a clean up operation of this river which back when was so bad that you can smell the stench from three miles away. The water as black as bunker C oil and there was hardly any life left in the river. 

The administration back then must have thought that my offer was an empty one as who was i to make such and offer and how can I fulfill my obligation or perhaps i was just looking for a job. and so there was no reason to entertain my correspondence well not unless i was going to come face to face and demand for it which I was about to back then. By ignoring my letter they were ignoring the Deputy Prime minister's orders too. The reply came but it was as good as saying oops! we are sorry for the slow,reply, but heck we are doing something about the river though.

Upon my return sometime if 1996 nothing was done except for a retaining wall being erected along parts of the river simply because the situation demanded it real bad to stop erosion. The rest of the river was just as bad a before. It was a band aid job and most probably someone was making money out of that too.

Was I qualified to carry out my offer? I was and I had the will and energy to do it too back then. I had worked as a Department head for a major Environmental Services Company in San Francisco and while in that position was exposed to all kinds of environmental issues one of which was river reclamation projects which i it my point of study with the same intention of doing exactly what i had in mind with the letter. But I forgot one small fact, that I was not dealing with an American Government Agency here, this was Malaysia, the first thing they ask you is "What is in it for me?!"

These da7ys when I look at the old river which is barely six miles long from its source to the sea, I feel a little sense of hope. I am beginning to see that what is said about, only a matter of time or time can cure is true in some cases. I hope that the Government will follow through with the next phases which is still educating the general public about wanton pollution of the river, especially those living along its banks. They also those who still have disregard as to how they discard their waste oil, like the mechanic workshops and car wash, bus deports and so on. 

Finally they have to think about relocating the slaughter house from it present location which is on the river itself and the vet's office too as this two sources of bio hazards are not what you need if you are serious about keeping the river clean. I will learn to be patient with changes especially if they bring good to my community and learn to trust that there are those who are as dedicated and caring for the environment as I am here in this State. Kudos to all of them.