Brunei River water quality 'very bad'

Years of garbage dumping into the Brunei River has rendered its quality of water "very bad", the Minister of Development said yesterday.

Other rivers in the country were also in a similar state, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman told reporters during his visit to Kampong Ayer.

While inspecting the progress of the ministry's five-year Brunei River clean-up project, he said the water quality will improve when the public change their attitude.

"(Dumping) rubbish ... (into the river) has become a habit. There are efforts done to contain this (through policies), however, we would like to see more people voluntarily changing their lifestyles before we enforce the (law)," the minister said.

"You will be surprised with the things that we can find (in the water). Everything you can think of, you can find it," he said.

Pehin Dato Hj Suyoi said the ministry is not only aiming to reduce the amount of waste in the water and improve the water quality, but also improve the ecology of the river.

The ministry's Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (Jastre) initiated the clean-up campaign in 2006 following a pilot programme to produce a technical and informational assessment on the environmental status of the Brunei River.

A total of $3.9 million has been allocated for the clean-up project, in addition to the $90,000 for the house-to-house waste collection.

"Hopefully, we would not have to (incur) such expenses again, and use the budget for other areas," the minister added.

During the three-hour inspection, the minister and his delegation assessed the lagoon area at Sultan Hj 'Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque, the rubbish trapping mechanism at Kg Pusar Ulak and Kg Limbongan, Kg Pekan Lama and the water quality monitoring station at Kg Saba Tengah.

The delegation comprised Deputy Minister of Development Dato Paduka Hj Ali Hj Apong, Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance) Hj Md Rozan DP Hj Md Yunus and other senior officials.

The Brunei Times