In an email to FMT, the environment department (DoE) said tests in 2020 had reported “excellent” quality, at 96 out of 100 points, from three sites on the island, including one by the shore where the alleged sewage pollution had taken place.

A resort was reported to be pumping what appeared to be raw sewage into one of the beaches at Pulau Perhentian Kecil, where a group of women holidaymakers claimed to have suffered diarrhoea from swimming in the waters there.

The environment department said water samples were taken six times a year and the water quality at Perhentian had never been shown to be polluted.

However, the department did not say if recent checks have revealed similar results, but said tests are being carried out.

Sewage dumped into sea at night

Pulau Perhentian regular diver Avigna Krish Dyala Kumar, said he was sceptical over the department’s findings. He said he had seen beaches with murky and smelly water at almost all locations.

He said the uncontrolled mushrooming of resorts, chalets, and homestays has led to massive coastal pollution.

Avigna, who had set out with two others in 2020 and 2021 to investigate the pollution as part of a journalism project, found that structures along the beach were the biggest culprits, as they flushed out their septic tanks into the sea at night and hoped the tides would take them away.

“We discovered that a prominent resort, popular among foreign tourists on Perhentian Besar, used to practice this night dumping. This is because, until today, Perhentian does not have a modern sewerage system.

RM120mil set aside but nothing done

“About RM120 million was set aside in the earlier Malaysia Plans to implement a sewerage system for the islands, but nothing was done,” said Avigna, a marine biology student now based in Australia.

Avigna said he was not surprised by the news of holidaymakers suffering from food poisoning as he had himself seen raw sewage floating on the water at Pasir Panjang beach.

“I was there in July 2020, the smell of raw sewage there during low tide was so overpowering. It is no surprise the six women fell sick after swimming there,” he told FMT.

“In Teluk Dalam, Perhentian Besar, I found long drainage pipes buried under beach sand which pumped out black, smelly water by the beach. All of us gagged when we arrived.”

Avigna said the long-term effects of untreated sewage released into the sea could kill what is touted as the best reef collection in the country and cause other marine issues.

‘No surprise’ holidaymakers getting sick

Marine biology professor Aileen Tan said untreated sewage may kill marine life as it would elevate ammonia levels in the water.

She said it was also likely that food poisoning reported by the holidaymakers might have been caused by absorption of septic seepage, which contains the e.coli bacteria and other dangerous pathogens.

Tan said she was surprised to find no modern sewerage system on the islands, especially when the islands are designated a marine park, one that is gazetted protected fisheries area under the law.

“We wonder why the number of resorts is not under control in a gazetted marine park? There must be people monitoring what is going on,” said Tan, who is director of the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

“Sampling must be done at the coastal areas during different tides to give a clearer picture of the situation. You can’t say the water quality is all good, which is hard to believe.

“As we aim to increase our marine protected areas from 5.3% to 10% in the future, we must first take care of the areas we have, first, so that it is in tip-top condition,” she said.