Over 13,000 Negeri Sembilan residents have sent a petition to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry urging it to close and relocate a toxic waste management centre in Sendayan that is reportedly causing nearby residents health problems.

 

Rasah MP Teo Kok Seong said he has received numerous complaints from residents of Kampung Felda Sendayan and Bandar Sri Sendayan regarding the Kualiti Alam integrated scheduled waste management centre there

 

"The residents who live near the plant frequently complain that they suffer from skin diseases and breathing difficulties due to air pollution (caused by the plant)," he said in a statement today.

 

When contacted by Malaysiakini , Teo said the plant's operating contract ended on Feb 28 but the government was allowing it to continue for another 15 years.

 

“They (the residents) have already suffered for almost 20 years, and now that the contract has ended you are going to extend it for another 15 years? This is unfair to the residents

 

“The contract has ended, but when I addressed this issue in Parliament, the minister told me the site is still capable of handling toxic waste products for another 15 years,” he added.

 

Plant caught fire

 

He said he hoped the ministry would look into the matter seriously, and take immediate action as they are the only ones who can do so.

 

"Even Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan ( left ) supports our cause. He himself said the authority (to close the plant) lies with the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry [...]. They are the ones who can decide," Teo said.

 

The Kualiti Alam waste management centre was granted an operating license in 1995 by the government to provide transportation, analysis, treatment and final disposal of scheduled wastes.

 

On Feb 27, the day before its operating contract expired, four warehouses storing toxic waste in the plant reportedly caught fire, blanketing the surrounding area with thick, black smoke.