Open burning irks residents

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JOHOR BARU: Residents at Taman Megah Ria here are fed up of several irresponsible parties who have been conducting open burning activities near their homes causing a terrible stench.

The items burnt include old tyres, gloves, wooden planks and other scrap materials which are dumped at an empty plot of land just beside the housing area.

Clerk Lim Fang Ling, 36, said that the problem had been ongoing for the past two months and she had even lodged several complaints with the Department of Environment but nothing was done as yet.

“Lorry loads of scrap and rubbish items and dumped and burnt at the site every night and all of us are suffering with the dreadful stench,” she said.

Unbearable smell: Syed Othman (left) looking at a pile of rubbish that were burned by irresponsible parties at an illegal dumpsite area near Taman Megah Ria in Johor Baru.

Retiree, Lee Wong Peng, 74, said that the smoke and stench from the open burning also caused him to cough badly.

“The stench is usually unbearable at around 10pm as this is when they start their little bonfires around the area.

“I’m not sure who these people are but we have even found cans of petrol used to ignite the rubbish there,” he said adding that sometimes the stench was so bad that he was forced to use a large dose of air freshener just to mask it.

Application engineer, Koo Lee Ring, 46, said that sometimes she would even wake up from sleep due to the stench from the open burning activities.

“Although we close our windows, the stench still manages to get into the house and it is just unbearable,” she said adding that the thick smoke also caused agitation to her throat.

Meanwhile,Pusat Aduan Rakyat Pasir Gudang supervisor Syed Othman Syed Abdullah said that he had also lodged a complaint with the DOE on the matter.

“We have also conducted a lookout at the area and found that at least two to three lorries dump rubbish at the site late at night.

“Several men would then set the items on fire and even camp out at the area to ensure that the items were burnt,” he said adding that he was unsure if the owner of the plot of land was aware of the activities.

Meanwhile, a representative from the state DOE confirmed receiving a report on the matter and said that they would first have to check with the land office to attain the details of the land owner.

“We will then conduct our investigations and if found guilty the persons involved can be compounded up to RM2,000 for the offence,” said the representative.