Palm oil mill operator denies K'gau pollution claims
Published on: Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Keningau: The operator of a palm oil mill here denied claims that his mill had been behind the pollution of several rivers here and subsequently caused the death of fishes in at least three rivers.Keningau Palm Oil Mill Managing Director Datuk Yap Yun Fook stressed his mill has zero discharge since it began operations in 2003 and all its processed fruit bunches are processed into fertilisers used in the plantation and others.The compost, he said, are released into the plantation via the irrigation canals to keep the ground fertile.
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"We also used some additional compost for the nursery, sold to farmers and give to schools to carry out their garden projects," he told Daily Express. Hence, he said not a single part of the palm oil fruits had gone to waste and believed that none of the wastes had slipped into the nearby waterways. The mill was ordered shut in October after it was found to have violated the Department of Environment (DoE) regulations. Villagers had earlier held the mill responsible for the pollution in the rivers – their main water source for drinking, washing and cleaning.
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An official complaint was lodged against the mill after news reports surfaced over the mill being responsible for the pollution and killed fishes from at least six rivers. The rivers include Sungai Puntih, Sungai Motou, Sungai Ansip, Sungai Sook, Sungai Bariawa, Sungai Pampang and Sungai Pegalan.
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Yap vehemently denied, claiming reporters picked up their stories from hearsay. He claimed reporters also had little concern on the geographical make-up of the rivers in Keningau, stating that not all rivers passed through his mill. The official DoE report had only alleged the mill was responsible for the pollution of Sungai Puntih. And the cause of the death of the fish is not connected to his mill according to minutes recorded at the District Office, involving DoE, Fisheries Department and Health Department. The report was also made known to the Daily Express.This prompted Yap to plan to sue news organisations which reported that his mill had been the cause of death of the fish. These allegations against Keningau Palm Oil Mill also earned the dissatisfaction of the Keningau District Officer who, while refuting that the mill was responsible for the death of the fishes, decided to ban reporters from entering the district. The Keningau Palm Oil Mill was opened in 2003 following a joint venture between Yap and the Sabah Land Development Board. On Thursday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said great care must be made to ensure the cleanliness of rivers and safety for all uses. He said he will not compromise mill operators who pollute, calling for the DoE to set up a much stricter guideline for mills to control their effluent discharge. He also reminded villagers living near rivers to stop treating them like dumping ground or toilet. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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