No river in Sarawak categorised as ‘dead’ so far, says Len Talif

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Len Talif speaking to reporters after the event. – Photo by Roystein Emmor

KUCHING: No river in Sarawak has been categorised as ‘dead’ so far, said Assistant Minister of Urban Development and Resources Datu Len Talif Salleh.

However, Len Talif admitted that some rivers especially around Kuching city have been categorised as badly polluted in terms of water quality such as the Padungan River, Bintangor River, Bedil River, Tabuan River and Miri River in Miri.

“Various efforts has been and will be taken by the state government to restore the quality of the rivers. The efforts include the invitation of the participation of local people through educational programmes as well as awareness of the importance of keeping the rivers clean,” he said after officiating the River Pollution and Conservation Seminar at a hotel here today.

Len Talif added that among the key initiatives taken by the state government to keep the rivers clean was developing the Kuching City-based Sewerage System with its first phase involving commercial and industrial buildings in operation since 2015.

Following the development of the sewerage system, he said the condition of the rivers around Kuching city is now improving although the Padungan River and the Bedil River are still very polluted as well as the Miri River.

In citing the Bintangor River as a example, Len Taliff said the water quality has improved thanks to the steps taken by the state government.

“We also believe the water quality of the Padungan River and the Bedil River and other rivers, especially around the city of Kuching, will also be restored after the second phase of the Kuching City Central Sewerage System, which involves operating homes,” he said.

The second phase of the system will see all domestic sewage channeled to the centralised sewerage system for treatment before being released into the river

Len Talif, however, said he could not determine the specific phase of the when the second phase of the project will be completed as it involves the process of implementing a large budget.

“We must also educate the members of the public on why service charges will be introduced if the implementation of the centralised sewerage system is operational too, although we guarantee a minimum charge rate.

“This is because the implementation cost of the second phase of the sewerage system is quite high,” he said.