Wanted: Owner of firm that caused Klang Valley water woes

The Malaysian Insider – 1 hour 17 minutes ago

The authorities have identified the owner of the company which allegedly dumped used engine oil into a Selangor river and caused water supply disruptions to one million customers in the Klang Valley.

But the man is now missing, according to Department of Environment (DOE) officials.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel (pic) said today 4,000 litres of used engine oil dumped in the drain and river were successfully removed by yesterday morning.
"I would like to clarify that it is not diesel as reported before but used engine oil. And the cleaning up process started as soon as the department was notified on the spillage," he told reporters after visiting the factory in Batu Arang, Selangor, today.
Palanivel visited the site with DoE director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan and the department’s senior officers. The place has been sealed off by the Selayang Municipal Council.
He said investigations are being conducted under the Environmental Quality Act 1974. If found guilty the perpetrator can be fined a maximum of RM500,000 and jailed up to five years.
Palanivel said used oil, which is classified as scheduled waste, should not be simply dumped.
"It has to be recycled and if not it has to be destroyed at licensed facilities approved by DoE," he said.
It is understood that there are three or four such facilities within a two-kilometre radius of the factory.
The oil spillage, which travelled 17km downstream before it was first detected on Friday morning, forced water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) to close down its four water treatment plants – Sungai Selangor Phase 1, 2 and 3, and Rantau Panjang.
Syabas classified the situation a Code Red and on Friday night appealed to consumers to use water prudently as the duration of disruption could not be ascertained.
Klang Valley folks rushed to buy bottled water at convenience stores as taps ran dry.
However the problem was solved yesterday when the treatment plants were up and running again.
Some of the affected areas in the Klang Valley started receiving full water supply while supply was to be back to normal in stages at other areas.
The Selangor government has locked horns with the BN government and Syabas, the main supplier of treated water in the rich state, as well as the two neighbouring federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, for the past four years over the Klang Valley's water supply.
Treated water in the country's most developed state was a major campaign issue in the May 5 general election after Syabas raised the alarm in 2011 of a possible crisis in the near future due to near-zero reserves at the state's water treatment plants.
The federal government has insisted a crisis can be best prevented through the building of the Langat 2 treatment plant. The Selangor government has protested the multi-billion ringgit plant, saying that it is too costly and will not enable it to continue providing cheap water to Selangor residents.
Currently it gives domestic consumers free water for up to 20 cubic metres each month.
The Selangor government, which is in favour of restructuring the state's water services industry, wants to take over Syabas.
Earlier it had offered to buy Syabas, Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH) and Konsortium ABASS at RM5.7 billion. The offer was rejected.
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was reported to have increased the offer to more than RM9 billion after the polls to take over all assets and liabilities of the companies, including their bonds. – September 1, 2013.