‘Teh tarik’ water in Klang River to run crystal clear by 2020

KUALA LUMPUR (August 1): Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said that the Klang River should be clean enough for people to wash their clothes in, and hopes to achieve this by 2020. 

Part of the previous administrations initiatives, the River of Life project has been working since 2011 to transform eight rivers in the Klang Valley.

These include the Klang River, Sungai Jinjang, Sungai Keroh, Sungai Kerayong and Sungai Gombak.

“It should be people-friendly and clean enough for them to wash their clothes in,” he said, reported Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

“The condition of the river depends on the source. Due to that, it is difficult to control (the pollution). There are businesses and houses along the way, and garbage is thrown into the river,” he said during the question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today, as quoted by the news portal.

Tan Yee Kew (PH-Wangsa Maju) had asked why the river was still murky, and inquired into the cause of the pollution. 

The River of Life project, aims to transform Klang and Gombak rivers into into a vibrant waterfront with high economic and commercial value, and is almost 70% complete. Phase one involved seven precincts from Masjid Jamek to Daya Bumi.

The RM4.4 billion project included river cleaning, river master planning and beautification, and river development. RM3.4 billion was allocated for cleaning the river, and the remaining RM1 billion is for landscaping.