I would like to express my utter disappointment at Kedah state exco Beh Heng Seong for playing down the pollution problem in Sungai Petani. ('Pollution Level Low, says Beh', Star , Nov 29, 2003).

Pollution in our town is visible to the naked eye. Anyone living here will testify that the air quality is very bad, especially at night. By claiming that pollution levels are low, Beh has refuted even his own government's findings, which was announced in the state assembly in August 2003.

The statistics presented at that time showed that the air quality had deteriorated by 19.1 per cent in the past three years based on index readings. The index was at 47 in 2000 and 50 in 2001, but in 2002 it rose to 56. The report also showed the same level of deterioration in the water quality index in the rivers of Kedah.

With all these facts abound, I am surprised that Beh could still maintain that the air is clean and healthy. I believe that the actual task of monitoring the air quality is mostly done during working hours by the Department of Environment. The actual level of pollution might be even higher if it takes into account that the sawmills burn their woodchips illegally at night.

I would also like to question Beh's claim that there is a buffer zone between the factories and housing estates. Residential houses are located only about 100 metres from the nearest sawmills - and the only thing separating them are a few rows of pathetic looking herbaceous trees. This does not include the hundreds of squatter houses located just directly outside the boundaries of these factories.

Smoke and toxic fumes travel easily with the wind. A 'buffer zone' of that kind would ironically serve more as a conduit for these pollutants rather than as a barrier. Factory chimneys are in constant full view of everyone living in the area. The stench emitted from the burning of wood by-products continues to irritate the nose and eyes of the people.

Though the Bakar Arang Industrial Estate was set up in the 1960's and the houses built in the 1990's, we should not let the precedence of things dictate our quality of life. From my understanding, the housing estate in Bakar Arang was developed after the government had a constructive plan to relocate the wood industries to a specific area in Bukit Selambau.

I am sure the grace period for that move has been exceeded by years and decades. I do not dispute Beh's concern for the heavy investment made by the owners of the sawmills and the livelihood of the sawmill workers. However, there are only about five sawmills here compared to hundreds of other more environmental friendly factories in this industrial estate. It seems such an irony that these few factories are the ones that cause the most pollution in the area.

Is it morally justifiable to expose thousands of residents to dangerous pollutants because of the need to preserve the profits of a few factory owners? Our intention is not to ask the owners to shut their factories down completely. All we ask is that if they cannot comply with the Environmental Act, they should then graciously move to the allocated area in Bukit Selambau to conduct their activity. We do not foresee any reduction in the work force, and therefore there is no question of whether the sawmill workers will be made redundant.

I am not a religious person but I do believe that each of us is destined to play a role in society. The politicians should make policies for the benefit of the people; the Department of Environment should play its role in enforcing the Environmental Act rigorously to ensure a consistently clean environment; and finally the entrepreneurs should strive hard to support the economy and not to pollute the environment.

If these three parties perform their duties diligently, then the people can finally resume their role as healthy residents, living amidst a clean environment in Sungai Petani.

However at present, the people of Sungai Petani feel that these three entities are conspiring to work against our ideals through the denial of facts and through the act of polluting the environment under the cover of darkness.