Can’t do without water
Selangor is the most populous state in Malaysia with nearly 7 million residents. It is also the most developed state and continues to grow rapidly. The state achieved an average GDP growth of 7.43% from 2021 to 2023, and contributes the most to the country’s GDP. These dynamics pose considerable challenges in terms of increasing demand for clean, reliable water supply. Households need clean rivers and their tributaries as much as factories, farms and wildlife do.
In 2023, households and businesses in Selangor used 3,754 million liters per day (this figure excludes the 1,450 million litres daily of non-revenue water which is attributed to pipe leaks and water theft). Furthermore, Air Selangor expects Selangor water demand to double in 10 years.
Costly pollution
When major water treatment plants are shut down to clean up pollution, hundreds of thousands of households and businesses suffer. The panic, hassle, and economic cost escalate when the water cut lasts days. Air Selangor’s Sustainability Report 2022 estimates that water disruptions due to river pollution have resulted in significant economic impacts, costing billions of ringgit annually.
From 2021–2023, river pollution has forced at least 3 shutdowns of water treatment plants every year. In 2023, the shutdowns lasted nearly 6 days, during which 830,000 households and businesses had dry taps, according to Air Selangor’s Sustainability Report 2023.
To illustrate the extent of river pollution’s impact on water supply in Selangor, Macaranga compiled a list of such incidents from online sources. We found that river pollution has become an annual culprit of major water cuts every year since 2014 except for 2017 and 2018.
Furthermore, the rivers most often polluted were Sungai Semenyih and Sungai Selangor. These rivers feed some of the biggest water treatment plants in the state. Yet based on a 2022 report from the Selangor Water Management Authority (Lembaga Urus Air Selangor, or LUAS) – the state’s water supply regulator – these rivers had acceptable water quality most of the time. Taken together, these results suggest that while pollution is uncommon, its impact is disproportionately severe.
Government turns to river reserves
According to Jamaliah Jamaluddin, Selangor State EXCO for Public Health and Environment, the government aims to ensure a consistent water supply, maintain clean water, reduce flood risks and support environmental management. To achieve the Selangor Plan 2035 objectives, “the state government, through LUAS, local authorities (PBT), and District and Land Offices (PDT), actively works to protect water resources from pollution threats,” said Jamaliah.
One approach the government is employing is to establish “zones of protection” under Section 48(1) of the LUAS Enactment 1999. Doing so allows LUAS to impose restrictions on activities within the protection and buffer zones. Such limits would help to safeguard any water source, reservoir and environmentally sensitive coastal area.
Specifically, these zones prohibit anybody from erecting structures, storing chemicals, altering existing land contours and constructing roads, clearing vegetation and riparian growth, and discharging any effluent and waste.
When such a zone is gazetted, it effectively empowers LUAS to enforce stricter controls on new developmental proposals such as factories, agriculture and housing projects within 50 m on both sides of the river. Offenders may face a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or imprisonment of not more than 2 years, or both.
According to data and river information provided by LUAS, Selangor’s rivers have a combined length of approximately 3,956 km.
The “2,078.35 kilometers have already been mapped with demarcation plans, which will be submitted to JUPEM Selangor for the drafting of the protection zone gazette. The remaining will be demarcated annually in stages until completion,” LUAS told Macaranga.
Challenges
However, while the state government has authority over land and rivers, it faces considerable challenges in gazetting river reserves. For one, the riverbank could be owned by private parties. The government could acquire the land for river reserves but the compensation to the private landowners makes this a costly option. On the other hand, LUAS has the authority to restrict or limit activities that may compromise the river’s quality and quantity.
Zoning river reserves isn’t the only way to protect rivers. The government is also aiming to deter polluters with harsher penalties. To control pollution at the source, Selangor launched a Zero Discharge Policy (ZDP) which will be implemented along with the Polluters Pay Principle (PPP), whereby businesses would have to pay for any amount of effluents discharged beyond the regulated limit. The policy is meant to control industries and compel them to recycle their effluents instead of dumping it into our waterways.
Selangor state executive councilor Jamaliah acknowledges the concerns that polluters may view fines as “the cost of doing business”. She points out that both the state and federal and state governments have taken steps to amend previous laws and introduce stricter enforcement mechanisms.
In 2023, the Environmental Quality Act 1974 was amended to enhance penalties related to water pollution, oil waste pollution and illegal disposal of scheduled waste. These amendments include a minimum fine of RM5,000 and a maximum fine of RM10 million, along with mandatory imprisonment not exceeding 5 years.
“These measures send a clear signal about the seriousness with which Malaysia views environmental violations. In Selangor, we are similarly intensifying our enforcement efforts,” Jamaliah adds.
Effective cooperation needed
Other than reserving the rivers, supporting ecosystems such as forests and wetlands also need to be protected, says Kennedy Michael, co-founder of NGO the Alliance of River Three (ART!). Selangor’s rivers are recharged by forests that store and regulate water flow, while mangroves protect coastlines and provide essential habitats for fish and other wildlife.
“Reserving rivers and terrestrial water bodies is pointless if the generators and catchment that recharge the water supply are not reserved,” Kennedy points out.
In recent years, Selangor has been criticised for its management of these ecosystems, particularly with controversial degazettement of forest reserves.
One prominent example is the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR), where public pressure stopped the state from degazetting 536.7 ha in 2021 for mixed commercial development. Originally gazetted in 1927, the KLNFR had already been dramatically reduced from its original 7,247 ha to just 957.63 ha today.
Another example is the degazettement of the Shah Alam Community Forest. The Selangor government announced in 2022 that it had excised the forest back in 2000. NGOs accuse the government of backdating the decision and are seeking a judicial review of the process. But developers have already cleared parts of the forest for a road.
Kennedy argues that poor coordination among agencies exacerbates the issue. “All the government agencies have cursory or obligatory cooperation, enough to get the job done but not necessarily done well.”
Volunteers with the NGO ART! picking up trash along a river in Taman Melawati, Selangor. (Chen Yih Wen)
Since 2014, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations and two other consumer groups – Forum Air Malaysia and Water and Energy Consumer Association (Wecam) – have been calling for the Selangor government to get its act together in regards to the intermittent water supply.
Wecam said consumers are aghast to see the Selangor government and water concessionaires fighting over water supply without considering the public’s needs. Since 2008, Selangor has been trying to buy back state water assets, which they claimed were poorly managed since its privatisation.
“We are apolitical consumers. As long as you open the tap, you get clean water, that’s all we are asking,” Wecam’s secretary Ratna Devi Nadarajan said during a press conference.
Selangor state assemblywoman Jamaliah acknowledges that there is room for improvement. She adds that the state government is aware of these issues and is actively working to strengthen inter-agency collaborations.
“Environmental challenges are often multi-dimensional, encompassing areas such as water management, water disposal, land use and industrial regulation. We are increasing our surveillance capacities, enhancing collaboration with the Department of Environment (DOE), and utilising real-time monitoring systems to detect violations early.”
The state government is also proactively engaging industry players by conducting workshops to help them better understand the long-term benefits of the Zero Discharge Policy and the Polluters Pay Principle, both for the environment and their businesses.
“Through these workshops, we emphasise the importance of green practices and how adopting these policies can help industries achieve better compliance and contribute to a more sustainable future. The goal is not to punish but to foster a culture of responsibility,” Jamaliah explains.
We need to think of a river basin approach as a whole approach, says Dr Minhaz Farid Ahmed of the Institute for Environment and Development at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He cites the example of the Langat River Basin which runs through Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Negeri Sembilan. “If one local authority is only taking care of the downstream [section], but the upstream district office does not take care or manage the river or pollution, it will affect the downstream [section],” he explains.
Communities protecting their rivers
Minhaz notes that Malaysia has many good policies and frameworks at the national and state level but when it comes to implementation at the local level, it is lacking in capacity and accountability.
“If the local government does not have the resources, they need to be dynamic using the existing public participatory platform.”
ART! is one notable group who has implemented community-led river ecosystem restoration for over 6 years.
One of their initiatives is the deployment of Pop-Up Pollinator Gardens, where they would plant a variety of flowering plants. These aim to reduce illegal and indiscriminate trash dumping by the roadside, which escapes into waterways. It also helps to boost the number of pollinator agents such as butterflies and bees which in turn builds the resilience of ecosystems. At the same time, it beautifies the landscape.
“The cost for a PUPG is way less than the cost of an “Dilarang Membuang Sampah Di Sini” signboard,” Kennedy quips.
Ultimately, Kennedy thinks that everyday people and businesses need to do better and a lot more starting with dispelling ignorance, and changing their habits, lifestyles and “endless quest” for convenience and personal gain.
However, “[the] government needs to do a lot, lot more.”
Updates: 6/12–Replaced the Selangor river map with one that’s more aesthetic and has labels of rivers and districts.
Edited by and with additional data reporting by YH Law.
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