Despite the murky waters, the Fire and Rescue Department did its best in search and rescue operations, following the dragon boat tragedy involving Chung Ling High School students.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said that while the murky waters had hampered the operations, the firemen, police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) carried out their tasks diligently.

"The water was very murky at that time, with visibility of not more than one metre, and that had hampered the search and rescue operations.

"(Nevertheless) Credit must be given to them. Whoever arrived first, began the operation as soon as possible," he said, adding that 17 divers from the Fire and Rescue Department, and three tracker dogs were deployed.

Kong, who was speaking to reporters after launching the Sunway Pyramid Chinese New Year festival today, was replying to criticisms by some quarters that the operation was disorganised.

Yesterday, he was in Penang to get a first-hand report on the tragedy from the firemen.

In the incident on Sunday, five students and a teacher of the school were killed when their boat capsized after hitting a tugboat during a training session near Pengkalan Weld in Penang.

On another development, Kong urged more shoppers and merchants to cut down on the use of plastic bags.

- Bernama