About 10,000 residents in Bukit Merah, Perak, are hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel for their air and noise pollution problems that have plagued them for eight long years.

The pollution, which originated from nearby factories, affects three housing estates - Bukit Merah, Taman Badrishah and Taman Impiana.

bukit merah housing estate According to the residents, numerous complaints have been made to the various government department, but they felled on deaf ears.

Spokesperson for the residents association for the three housing estates, T Kaladevi, 51, said the dust and air pollution created by the factories were so bad that many of the residents suffered from eye, skin and lung-related ailments.

“The corrosive fumes are causing burning sensations to our eyes and lungs when we breathe, and our skin became itchy and sore,” said Kaladevi.

“One of the factories releases a thick film of black soot that covers our houses, gates and vehicles causing them to become rusty. Our children are having breathing problems and hospital visits are frequent to seek treatment for various pollution-related diseases.”

Chairperson for the residents association, Musa Kamaruddin, 48, a businessman said: “We are scared to let our children out to play in the playground because of the heavy air pollution.”

He said that residents had to keep all windows and doors of their houses shut to prevent the black soot from entering.

“The noise pollution from one of the factories is so bad that we cannot sleep peacefully at night and many are facing mental agony and stress-related problems,” said Lai Choy Wan, 45.

Property values have plummeted

Many of the residents want to sell off their houses and relocate elsewhere but the property values have plummeted to half the original price they paid for after the emergence of the air pollution problem.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairperson M Sarasvathy, 55, who had championed their cause in the past one year, also claimed that many residents are now facing various cancer-related problems due to the long-term effect of the air pollution.

She alerted the press when a team of state health officials and two environmental specialists from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (USM) made spot checks on four factories allegedly contributing to the air and noise pollution.

After visiting the said factories, USM environmental health specialist Dr Mazuru Sahani told reporters that he had to consult the relevant government departments before embarking on further actions to solve the air and noise pollution.

“We also have to get more funding to identify the factories involved in air pollution,” she added.