Environment and water minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the Department of Environment (DoE) had received many complaints from residents in the area.

“The DoE has already issued a stop-work order and has been conducting integrated operations since 2019.

“The department is referring this matter to the Sungai Petani Municipal Council so that action can be taken under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, and the Local Government Act 1976,” he said in a Facebook post today.

Tuan Ibrahim also uploaded several pictures showing the factory belching thick smoke into the air.

In September last year, the DoE sanctioned two timber factories in Bukit Selambau after it was found that they did not use air pollution control systems.

Earlier, various parties had expressed concern over the illegal smelting factory in Sungai Petani, as it had been alleged to be the cause of air pollution in the area for several years.