Source : New Straits Times, Malaysia, 16 Jul '06
By : NSTP 
  

State Assemblyman for Sedili, Dr Abdul Rashid Abd Mokti, said Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani had announced in the State Legislative Assembly last month that protection measures for the six rivers in Kota Tinggi were now in the process of being gazetted.

Silt and pollutants from Sungai Mupur emptying into Sungai Ulu Sedili Besar, affecting the rich source of prawns and fish there.

Dr Rashid said State representatives in the district were concerned about the degradation of many of Kota Tinggi’s rivers and welcomed the State Government’s move to gazette the rivers.

According to Dr Rashid,there were not many rivers left in the country that were free from pollution, and it was important that any plan to gazette rivers within catchment areas should include the entire stretch of the rivers from the source to the river mouth.

Dr Rashid said the district’s catchment areas were endowed with jungles and hills and were a vital source of drinking water for the State.

According to Dr Rashid, two important rivers that needed immediate attention were the Ulu Sedili Besar and Sedili Kecil rivers.

Sungai Sedili Kecil now suffers third grade pollution.

Dr Rashid said if rehabilitation efforts are not taken immediately, the river will soon suffer fifth grade pollution and that would mean its waters would not be fit for drinking or irrigation.

"We have brought up the matter at the last development meeting of the Kota Tinggi district council. We have asked for a full report from the council.

"We will submit it to the State Government for remedial action."

Dr Rashid wants the State Government to turn the catchment area around these two rivers into a Ramsar wetland site.

(The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.)