Senggarang assemblyman Khairuddin A Rahim (left) at the landfill in Sungai Tiram in Johor. — Picture courtesy of Johor Parti Amanah Negara

JOHOR BARU, Aug 8 — Senggarang assemblyman Khairuddin A Rahim today alleged that 2,000 metric tonnes of scheduled waste containing arsenic from Singapore, brought in by a Johor waste disposal company is being dumped at a landfill in the Sungai Tiram area on a monthly basis.

He said the alleged toxic dumping activities were uncovered last month by a team from the Johor Department of Environment (DoE) where the source was traced to the solid waste disposal company here.

Khairuddin said the waste disposal operators were not cooperative and the DoE investigating team were not allowed to enter the company’s premises located in the Pasir Gudang industrial zone or its landfill in Sungai Tiram.

“The action by the company has led to many questions on what privilege does the company have in dumping such toxic waste from Singapore in Johor.

“Even Johor has to send its own scheduled waste that contains arsenic for proper disposal to a company called Kualii Alam in Negri Sembilan where it is incinerated before being safely disposed of,” he said in a statement today.

Malay Mail learnt that the scheduled solid waste, containing arsenic, were brought in from Singapore to Johor via land routes.

It is transported by lorries and will go through any of the two Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) entry points in Johor.

The waste will then be brought to the companies processing centre located at the Pasir Gudang industrial zone, where it would later be dumped via lorries at the Sungai Tiram landfill.

Khairuddin said this is a serious matter and urged the Johor state government to intervene immediately.

He said the waste disposal company has been in operation for some time.

“Additionally, we will lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the matter as we have received reports that the scheduled waste disposal from Singapore is found to have breached laws and there are elements of misconduct involved in its operations,” said Khairuddin.

Khairuddin, who is also the Johor Parti Amanah Negara secretary and is known to champion environmental issues, said as an elected assemblyman, he will bring the matter up in the state assembly on Sunday.

Arsenic is a hazardous metalloid chemical compound that is also found in industrial waste. It is known to contaminate groundwater via landfills.

Long-term ingestion of arsenic will pose health problems where it can lead to cancer, liver disease, coma, and death.