Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Hanipa Maidin said, at this juncture, the Johor government had said it would be able to handle the situation on the ground, and that there was no need for federal government intervention.
Hanipa said for an emergency to be declared, the request must come from the Johor state government.
“The state government is still capable of controlling the situation. The situation has yet to reach disaster levels for an emergency to be declared.
“But even though we do not think there is a need to declare an emergency, we are already undertaking efforts similar to that of an emergency,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
Hanipa was winding up the debate on an emergency motion calling on the government to declare an emergency in Pasir Gudang.
The motion was tabled by Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) under Standing Order 18.
Hanipa said the federal government acknowledged that what was happening in Sungai Kim Kim was a problem, and that it was not running away from the problem.
He said Putrajaya had agreed to provide an allocation of RM8 million for the river cleanup.
Before that, Deputy Minister for Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis told the house the ministry had mobilised resources from other states to Johor to check all 254 chemical factories within the Pasir Gudang area within three days.
Isnaraissah said a total of 29 investigators in six teams from the Johor Department of Environment (DOE) were on duty. At this juncture, 13 teams, with 40 investigating officers from different states are also assisting investigations since this morning.
“Police have also set up roadblocks in the area to block the movements of illegal waste. Also, the DOE will continue to carry out water sampling at three illegal disposal locations, at both ends of Sungai Kim Kim,” she said.
Isnaraissah said they were also getting help from the military and Petronas, who had sent their resources, such as machinery, equipment and experts to help the government in handling this crisis.
For instance, she said Petronas had sent an air dispersal modeller, which would be very useful for them to understand vapourisation and movement of gases and help them plan their work more effectively.
Earlier, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said over 1,000 people there had received treatment, and that there were no casualties.
He ticked off those who had made “irresponsible announcements” claiming that there were people who had died.
“I wish to remind the public to not simply believe any information, other than official ones,” he said.
Dzulkefly also advised all members of the public to stay away from the river cleanup process as there was a possibility the chemicals were spreading through the air.
“Every day, we have observed spikes in the chemical levels, depending on the temperature and wind factor in the cleanup process.
“We are looking at unprecedented toxic pollution. There is no precedent or standard operating procedure to be used. It is important to note this,” he said.
As for Education Minister Maszlee Malik, he said all student victims affected by the chemical pollution had been given takaful insurance protection.
“They will get their compensation,” said Maszlee.
He said Islamic religious schools, which do not come under the purview of the ministry, had also been advised to shut down for now.
A total of four MPs participated in the debate, namely Hassan Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang), Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian), Steven Choong (PH-Tebrau) and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PAS-Kubang Kerian).