Community wades in to clean Sg Kayu Ara

The Star

20-07-2025

It was his first time volunteering for a river clean-up and Angus Kong was visibly sweating from the effort.
By the end of the event, the non-governmental organisation Kelab Komuniti Kita vice- president was too glad to flop into a chair to catch his breath.
The tired bachelor, however, has no regrets taking part.
Participants clear away close to half a tonne of rubbish from Sungai Kayu Ara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Along with some 30 other volunteers, he helped to remove close to half a tonne of rubbish within a 500m radius from Sungai Kayu Ara, near the site of Kampung Cempaka Flood Retention Pond in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
'Though the clean-up was within a small area of the river, I feel a deep satisfaction.
'It gives me a good feeling to know that we have made a difference, as the site looks clean now,' said Kong.
Though not a resident of Kampung Cempaka, Kong, a Kuchai Lama resident from Kuala Lumpur, said he was motivated to take part after speaking to residents in the area.
'There were different stories from different generations.
'Those in their 70s and even 30s, have told me that they can still remember bathing in Sungai Kayu Ara. They would fish and catch eels by the river.
'However, those in their 20s say their parents did not allow them to even go to the river for safety reasons,' said Kong.
Old tyres, pipes and plastic bags that have been fished out from Sungai Kayu Ara.
This difference made Kong realise how far and quickly the water quality has degraded in Sungai Kayu Ara that flowed through several industrial and populated residential areas.
Though he was realistic about how much the water quality could be improved from a clean-up, he hoped the initiative would spark river pollution awareness among the present generation.
Assorted rubbish
The river clean-up programme that Kong and other volunteers took part in was the first for Kampung Cempaka, a Chinese new village in Petaling Jaya.
Volunteers, who had gone into the foul-smelling waters of Sungai Kayu Ara, pulled out all kinds of rubbish.
While most were plastic bags, mineral water bottles and gardening waste, also making into the half tonne pile of rubbish collected by the riverbank were old clothing, discarded food cans, parts of a rusty zinc roof and a 3m-long plastic pipe.
Volunteers from Petaling Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) said these types of junk were nothing compared to what they had experienced in their line of duty.
'We have pulled up larger items like refrigerator, mattress and sofa,' said Azmi Ahmad, a public assistant with Petaling DID, whose one-year-old daughter joined in the event.
Some believe the junk may have been dumped at secluded riverbanks by fly tippers, he said, adding that there were also those who treated rivers as a place to dump waste.
As for smaller items like plastic bags and bottles, public littering was mentioned as a main cause.
When rubbish is thrown indiscriminately, they get blown into waterways, possibly through storm drains, added Azmi.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor John Leong, who organised the river cleanup, said the programme at Kampung Cempaka Flood Retention Pond in Lebuh Bandar Utama was a pilot project.
The goal, he said, was to scale up public participation.
'This will not be a one-off event, but I plan to make this a regular activity with clean-ups taking place monthly or several times a month.
'We plan to do one more clean-up for World Rivers Day at the end of September, where participation will be open to the public,' he said.
Volunteers hauling the collected rubbish from the river into a roll-on roll-off bin provided by MBPJ.
Expenditure for the clean-up in Kampung Cempaka was RM5,500, he added.
The money was spent on buying personal protection equipment like wet suits, nets and gloves for the volunteers.
Another RM2,500 was used for the rental of tent, chairs and tables as well as food catering and use of a generator.
A little goes a long way
River Engineering and Urban Drainage Research Centre (Redac) director Chang Chun Kiat said river plogging and local clean-ups are not only cleaning tools.
They are, he said, also important contributors to data collection and citizen engagement that shaped the River Health Index (RHI), a framework that included physical, chemical and biological indicators, as well as sociological factors such as public access, community involvement and awareness.
'Despite its limited scope, such clean-up programmes can improve water quality at the targeted stretch, particularly in terms of poor aesthetics by reducing the presence of visible waste that can contribute to flooding.
'Community-based river monitoring initiatives have shown that regular river plogging activities, held weekly or biweekly, can lead to noticeable improvements, especially in terms of dissolved oxygen and reduced floating debris,' said Chang, adding that if nothing was done, the consequences could be dire.
Redac is the research arm of Universiti Sains Malaysia's Engineering Campus, commissioned by DID through its Humid Tropics Centre division in Kuala Lumpur (HTC-KL) to refine the RHI.
HTC-KL is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's hydrological programme.
Chang said one of the most immediate and visible consequences of rivers with rubbish in Malaysia was the increased risk of flash floods, especially in urban areas.
'Large volumes of floating and deposited rubbish block stormwater drains, culverts and river channels, reducing their carrying capacity.
'This is a major concern among government agencies, engineers and the public. These blockages disrupt natural water flow, turning moderate rainfall events into destructive floods, damaging infrastructure and livelihoods,' he said.
Chang added that when rubbish remained in rivers, it became a source of continuous pollution.
'Plastics, heavy metals, oils and untreated organic waste release toxins and harmful substances into the water.
'This not only affects the appearance and smell of the river, but also leads to unsafe levels of chemical, biological and physical contamination.
'This makes the water unfit for human consumption, agricultural use and aquatic ecosystems.'
Chang added that water supply agencies must then spend more resources on advanced treatment processes, driving up costs and straining municipal systems.
In rural areas, untreated river water may directly threaten public health.
'There is also the threat to aquatic life and biodiversity. Aquatic organisms are particularly vulnerable.
'Fish, amphibians, birds and invertebrates often ingest plastics or become entangled in waste, leading to injury, starvation or death.
'As plastic waste degrades into microplastics, it enters the food chain, affecting not only wildlife but also humans who consume fish and use river water.
'Over time, entire ecosystems may collapse, with species decline and habitat loss becoming irreversible without major intervention,' said Chang.
Call for more involvement
Selangor public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin, who is also Bandar Utama assemblyman, hopes the river clean-up project will result in ideas on more diverse methods to improve the river condition in Kampung Cempaka through small-scale projects.
'This is not only about cleaning the river, but also the surrounding environment.
'We could maybe have plants around the area.
'We also want to look at how we can get our students, especially those from universities or high schools, to join us and understand how rivers can be protected and kept clean.
'Most importantly, this programme will give our team more first-hand experience when it comes to handling environmental issues or when we want to improve certain river conditions.
'It will also help to strengthen relationships within the community,' said Jamaliah.
She hoped there would be new and different faces taking part in future clean-up events in Kampung Cempaka.
She also hoped the event would kickstart an awareness campaign on nature appreciation and river care in Bandar Utama.
'At the same time, it is a way for us to provide a platform for residents who enjoy serving their community,' she said.