New Straits Times (NST) spoke to water quality specialist Dr Zaki Zainudin who said the conversion of forests into oil palm plantations as well as the activities of agriculture and logging including the mining of tin and gold had contributed to the river’s slow deterioration.

“Conversions of forests into oil palm plantations, and logging also disrupt the hydrological balance as forests help to retain water. Wildlife habitats are also destroyed. These activities affect water quantity and quality and aquatic ecology. There are socio-economic ramifications too,” Zaki was quoted saying.

Zaki explained that when it rained, vast amounts of solids from oil palm plantations and logged areas had washed into the river, giving the water a brownish tinge. These solids also settled at the river bed, making some parts of the river shallow, while wiping out fish breeding grounds.

“What is transpiring now are cues for what the future might hold. Are we going to sit back and pretend everything is still okay? Blame it solely on factors beyond our control, such as El Nino? What about factors within our control? What are we going to do about that?” he asked.

The daily also spoke to another expert, who preferred not to be named, but who said rivers in Sabah and Sarawak were in an even worse condition, and that enforcement was difficult due to the vastness of the forests and the remote locations of the rivers.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar meanwhile told the NST that it was high time the country had a central water-management body.

“It may take a while but this should have been done since Merdeka. Today, in 2016, it is a wake-up call,” he said, adding that the matter had been raised at the Cabinet.