ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Malaysia’s government will look into the demands of fishermen in Johor affected by the recent oil spill that spread from Singapore waters, said Malaysian minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
“We will study their demands… based on the legal provisions (available) and look into ways of how we can deal with this moving forward,” the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister told reporters yesterday.
Nik Nazmi’s comments followed the recent oil spill after a ship collision in Pasir Panjang Terminal in Singapore, which also affected several beaches in the southern part of Johor.
He said the first phase of clean-up works at oil-tainted beaches near Sungai Rengit beach has reached 95 per cent completion.
The clean-up of rocky and gravelled areas was 20 per cent complete, he added.
“So far, we have found that the Sungai Rengit beach, fishing village and jetty are clean.
However, we will (see that there is) constant monitoring,” he said.
Nik Nazmi said the work is expected to be completed within a week, given favourable weather conditions.
He added that the authorities were also informed about oil pollution near Cik Kamat Island and the contractor has been told to clean up the area.
“However, we will do an evaluation first and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has deployed assets to monitor Pengerang waters stretching to the Abu Bakar Maritime Base.
“So far, no oil spill was detected there,” he added.
