18 illegal factories in Pasir Gudang will be shut down by the Johor authorities starting this week.

Johor Department of Environment (DoE) Director Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaafar said that they have been inspected about 250 factories.

“We are going in with the relevant agencies to check them out.

“So far, we have inspected and closed three factories.

“Our operations are ongoing and even though we have achieved our target of inspecting 250 factories, we will continue with our enforcement,” he said.

He also added that they had inspected more than 255 factories and issued 125 compounds for numerous offences related to disposal of scheduled wastes, industrial effluents and sewage.

Over 100 victims of the pollution outbreaks in Pasir Gudang filed a police report yesterday in Johor Bahru. This is to urge the authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the incidents.

The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climatic Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said that the government will no longer approve any more applications for the construction of new chemical plants in Pasir Gudang after those two incidents which largely affected school students in the district. She said currently, there are 2,005 factories in Pasir Gudang including 250 chemical plants.