I'm tired of being stuck in this myopic narrative that Msians seem to have on environmental issues where we only seem to care and be angry about the impact of pollution or the climate crisis ONLY after something terrible has occurred. It's not enough & we need do better.

Based on the latest data collected by DOE's Environmental Quality Report, only 46% of our rivers were considered clean. It's very clear based on this graph that the number of polluted rivers have consistently remained more or less the same from 2008 to 2017 which is ALARMING.

What is also very clear is that the manufacturing industries, agricultural industries, and sewage plants have been the main contributors year on year to worsening the state of our rivers. (sorry the econs degree in me is really into gratuitously using graphs)

There is a multitude of root causes to this issue. We have unchecked development and industrialization from the manufacturing and agricultural sector. We have pollution-related legislation, policies & systems put in place but they are ineffective in compliance and enforcement.

So yes, calling for stricter punishments and enforcement for polluters through the proposed amendment of the outdated Environmental Quality Act 1974 is a start but it is by no means going to be an end all solution to the collective environmental crisis we are facing.

How many more environmental disasters that impede on our accessibility and rights to a safe, healthy, clean environment need to happen until we get our collective rage together and manifest it into a future where we put people and the environment first before profits?

We can start by demanding for authorities to (1) incorporate precautionary principles in policy making because harsher penalties =/= strong deterrent of pollution (trust me ok I did enough environmental economics to not be scammed by this free market policy)

(2) implement the polluter pays principle where clean up operations, damages, and medical fees should be borne by the polluter and NOT the state. (eg to clean up the toxic waste in Sungai Kim Kim, the Johor state government had to approve an emergency allocation RM6.4 million)

(3) and use that beautiful voice of yours and existing civic engagement processes to hold these polluters and the state accountable and while you're at it, demand our MPs to treat climate change as a CRISIS and declare a “state of emergency”

Follow climate & environmental NGOs who work on these issues to stay updated even after this slowly dies out on the news cycle @KlimaAction @MYDclimate @jedipenang
KuasaPerak @ZeroWasteMsia @MyHutan @FTS_KL @EcoKnights

SOURCES:
- @KlimaAction https://www.instagram.com/p/CEvf1AnpOWu/ 
- @zakizainudin 'River Pollution in Malaysia'
- Ang Shin Ying, 'Progress of Water Environment Governance in Malaysia'
- https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/10/19/sg-kim-kim-was-just-the-tip-of-the-dirty-river-iceberg
- https://www.thestar.com.my/visual-stories/river-pollution/