Abd Hamid (third from left, squatting) and MBDK councillor Mohd Rayme Abdul Rahman (left) joining local communities in removing rubbish during the ‘gotong-royong’ session at Kampung Sungai Udang fishermen’s jetty in Klang. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
KLANG Royal City Council (MBDK) is considering a proposal to three agencies to instal a log boom in Sungai Klang to reduce rubbish passing through the city.
Klang mayor Datuk Abd Hamid Hussain said the log boom was to filter out plastic bottles, containers and other types of rubbish that floated in the river.
The proposal would be submitted to Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), Selangor Water Management Board (Luas) and Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB).
Sungai Klang stretches 120km from Gombak to the mouth of the Straits of Malacca, close to Port Klang.
It passes through several cities, including Kuala Lumpur, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang.
“The river spans a 21km-stretch within the Klang district,” said Abd Hamid.
“We hope to convince the three agencies to see the benefits of installing a log boom to keep rubbish from floating into the sea or being trapped in mangrove tree roots by the riverbank.”
He was speaking during the “Cintai Sungai Klang” gotong-royong programme organised by MBDK at Kampung Sungai Udang, Klang.
The Selangor portion of Sungai Klang comes under the purview of DID and LUAS.
LLSB, a subsidiary of Menteri Besar Selangor Inc, was mandated by the state government to rejuvenate the river under the Selangor Maritime Gateway project.
The log boom requested by MBDK would be in addition to ones that Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim said last year would be installed at 35 smaller river outlets connected to Sungai Klang to prevent more rubbish from entering the river.
More than 300 people from local communities, associations and government agencies participated in the third phase of the “Cintai Sungai Klang” programme to clean up the river and plant trees.
“A clean river is important for the environment; it is also crucial for local fishermen and local tourism,” said Abd Hamid.
“We observed that the portions where the first and second phases of the programme were held are now much cleaner.”
The gotong-royong programme saw people bag up plastic waste and old packaging near SK Sungai Udang, Kampung Sungai Udang Fishermen’s Jetty and two places of worship.
Abd Hamid said the fourth phase of the event was scheduled for September this year.
