Sepakat Baru village resident committee member Azmi Basiran, 54, who has lived in the village for over 40 years, said the discharge was occurring just 300m from their homes.

“This black water does not smell like gas. When it doesn’t rain, the stench is really bad,” he told Bernama here today.

He said the nearest factory is more than 5km away.

He urged the authorities to carry out an immediate investigation to identify the source of the pollution, adding that he has forwarded the complaint to Skudai assemblyman Marina Ibrahim.

In a Facebook post, Marina said she had informed the environment department (DoE).

A Bernama check at the location found that the smell could still be detected despite heavy rain. Several DoE enforcement officers were also there to conduct inspections.