SANDAKAN – Salty water supply problems here may have been resolved but that episode has also raised another issue – are chemicals from oil palm plantations and mills polluting Sg Segaliud, which supplies water to the majority of the population here?
The salty water problem, which began in November last year, is being resolved with the repair of a damaged river gate that had allowed seawater to seep in at the Segaliud water treatment plant in Kinabatangan, about an hour’s drive from Sandakan.
But this has made people here more aware that their treated water is sourced from Sg Segaliud, which supplies about 80% of Sandakan’s population, or some 300,000 consumers.
Those living along the river are reviving past concerns about possible pollution sources from oil palm plantations and mills, which they believe are behind previous episodes of dead fish in the water.
Kg Segaliud village chief, Matasan Mahathir, told Scoop that villagers last saw a mass of dead fish floating on the river in September.
As they have done before in other similar episodes, the villagers reported it to the Sabah Environment Department, which then sent personnel who inspected the scene and wrote a report.
“No definite solution ever comes from these reports,” Matasan said.
Dead fish in the water
Villagers suspect the palm oil factories along the river have been discharging their liquid waste into the river during heavy rain to make it difficult for the authorities to detect the harmful chemicals, as well as the source, Matasan added.
Previous cases of river pollution at Kg Segaliud include episodes of dead fish floating in the water in 2015 and 2018.
The timing of these incidents tally with former Kg Segaliud village development and safety committee chief Kuning Kadir’s account of a palm oil mill set up near the village about 10 years ago.
Now, there are five palm oil factories in the area.
“We have investigated the matter and found that there are palm oil mills discharging waste from the factories into the river.
“They also change the (flow) path of these discharges so that they will not get caught, but they cannot run away from the harmful effect caused when fish are poisoned and float dead in the river,” Kuning told Scoop.
“Villagers have taken action multiple times. We have lodged a police report, reported to the Environment Department and we have even hired lawyers to sue these companies,” he added.
In 2019, the Environment Department confirmed Sg Segaliud was polluted due to waste discharge from nearby factories.
Last year, Kg Segaliud villagers filed a civil case against two palm oil mills for polluting the river at the Sandakan High Court.
Kuning said that one company – Berkat Setia Sdn Bhd – was ordered to pay a RM50,000 fine. However, the villagers lost their case with another company, Prolific Yield Sdn Bhd, and had to pay RM30,000 instead.
Kuning, who is now 57 and a district development coordinator, recalled drinking water straight from the river when he was young.
Now, however, half the village’s 1,000 population of fishermen and farmers do not have proper tap water supply and rely on river water for daily activities like showering, cleaning and cooking.
Spotting hundreds “and even thousands” of dead fish on the river’s surface is a regular occurrence about three to four times a year now, Kuning added, and it goes without saying that this has greatly impacted the livelihoods of the area’s fishermen.
“Only when there are this many would we report it to the Environment Department, because if the number of fish is too small, which is what we see almost every day, it is a waste of the department’s time,” he said.
Oil palms planted too close to river
Also of concern is how oil palm trees are planted too close to the edge of riverbanks along Sg Segaliud, in disregard of existing laws requiring buffer zones between trees and the river to prevent run-off from chemicals used in fertiliser and weed killer.
A video clip shared among Sandakan residents recently shows oil palm trees planted close to the river’s edge, with the water appearing stagnant and a dirty brown.
Warisan’s Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong has raised the matter multiple times at state assembly sittings but has never received a definite answer from the Sabah government.
“Harmful chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers from these oil palm plantations planted right next to Sg Segaliud flow into this river, and it is the source of water supply in Sandakan. Is the government doing anything to look into this matter?” Chong asked, when speaking to Scoop.
Liberal Democratic Party president Datuk Chin Su Phin also issued a recent statement on the matter, urging the state government to take immediate action as it involves public health.
He also urged the palm oil companies and factory operators around Sg Segaliud to adhere to the rules on riparian reserves – land left unplanted between plantations and the riverbank to act as a buffer so that water quality is not affected.
In Sabah, the width of a riparian reserve is 20m on each side of the riverbank. In parts where the river meanders or is very wide, it is 60m. These reserves are administered by the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department.
These widths are stated in a state law that was introduced in June 2000.
However, there are claims that the Sabah Land and Surveys Department is not enforcing the law on riparian reserves thoroughly.
Environmentalist Datuk John Payne, who is executive director of Bringing Back Our Rare Animals, or Bora, said the problem stems from the land titles for plots along Sabah’s rivers, especially those issued before the law came into force.
“Most land title boundaries near rivers cover what unsupervised labourers cut and (they) send (the data) to their boss, who then sends it to the Lands and Surveys Department, which does not do ground checks, and simply issues the title. This was what I saw in the 1980s and 90s.
“The 20m law (on riparian reserves) only came in June 2000. By then it was already too late. Landowners have cleared and planted anywhere inside their land titles,” he said.
Lands and Surveys Dept says no official complaint
Sabah Lands and Surveys Department director Datuk Bernard Liew told Scoop the department has never received any complaint about riparian reserves along Sg Segaliud.
He said the his department is working with the Sabah Irrigation and Drainage Department to manage riparian reserves in the state.
When asked if the department is struggling with the issue of land titles as mentioned by Payne, Liew said this is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. He added that he would have to investigate to see if this was happening along Sg Segaliud.
Liew also said changes in river alignment over the years poses a challenge to the department, as this alters the size of the area involved for riparian reserves.
He said the department welcomes public complaints and promised to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation.
Complaints can be sent to the department’s email at [email protected], with the name and contact number of the complainant, as well as the name, map and coordinates of the disputed area, he said. – December 19, 2023