It will happen again and again if our enforcement agencies are inept and corrupt. It is wishful thinking to leave the preservation of our environment to the good conscience of individuals.
We must understand simple economics: no one has inherent interest in preserving the fish in the sea and the trees in forests, or in keeping rivers and catchment areas pristine and clean. The market mechanism will not be able to price in pollution and charge those who committed it accordingly.
Unless the state puts down its foot on fishing in our seas, stealing and over-harvesting timber from our forests, and creating pollutants in industrial processes, these will be the “natural” things to do. Individuals will accrue benefits for themselves but attribute the costs to society at large. Ask yourself, who is paying the RM6.4 million to clean up Sungai Kim Kim now, the ones who polluted the river or we, the society at large?
If we continue in our present state, the situation will only become worse as the country becomes more populated and industrialised.
It is time to hold enforcement agencies and their respective ministers/excos accountable for all the baloney that is going on, from stealing state land and over-harvesting timber, to overfishing and massive pollution.
When toxic waste is released into the rivers or atmosphere, affecting hundreds of people, they must come from a source. What do our enforcement agencies do? Do they monitor and check factories, or do they sit around and wait for pollutants to be released first?
When state timber is stolen, why is it so difficult to notice? Can they not see giant timber trucks moving in and out of forest areas?
When state land is illegally occupied for the cultivation of perennial crops, why is it so difficult to notice? Are enforcement agencies blind and deaf?
I expect some ready answers on why our enforcement agencies are so ineffective, including “lack of manpower and difficulty in detecting all illegal activities”.
But don’t we have the most bloated civil service in the world? Why are we always short of staff? And why is it so difficult to detect theft and sources of pollution? For goodness’ sake, this is theft and pollution on a massive scale, not like stealing a chicken or buffalo from a kampung.
To cut a long story short, enforcement agencies and their ministers/excos must be held responsible. They cannot claim ignorance or innocence each time a major fiasco happens on their watch.
For example, we want to know who the officers in charge of the environment in the Pasir Gudang area are. Disciplinary and legal action must be taken if they are found to be negligent or corrupt.
I am sure the situation will improve if we are persistent in holding enforcement agencies accountable. Otherwise, we can carry on talking and sighing every few months.
TK Chua is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.