CENTRE FOR HUMAN SCIENCES

COURSE:  SOFT SKILLS

CODE: UHS1022

CURRENT ISSUE DISCOVERY (CID) PROJECT

GROUP PORTFOLIO / LOGBOOK

LECTURER: DR. MANSOR BIN SULAIMAN

 

1.0 GROUP PROFILE

1. Section: 03G
2. Group name: EXCELLENCY
3. Leader: PAULINE TAN SHI PENG (KA20001)

a)      Secretary : DHARSHINI DEEPA A/P V RAJESWARAN (KA20005)

b)      Member 1: NUR BASIRAH BT ABU MANSOR (EA20030)

c)      Member 2: JOHAN HAIQAL HILMAN BIN ROSLAN (AA 20181)

d)      Member 3: MUHAMMAD RIZAINI BIN MOHAMMAD RIZAL (AA20185)

e)      Member 4: MUHAMMAD AIMAN HAKEEMI BIN MOHAMMAD AZHAN (AA20172)

 

 

 

 

2.0 PHASE 1 STEP 1 (WEEK 3) - PLANNING AND GROUP COORDINATION

 

TASK	GROUP ACTIVITY	PROVE / RELATED PICTURE
Group name	- Group discussion conducted to choose group name - ‘EXCELLENCY’ is selected and agreed upon.	Selection of Group Name : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ig692TNnHSMx_7gqJzqJD_4iqrRUZe01/view?usp=sharing
Group leader	- Group discussion conducted to choose group leader - Pauline Tan Shi Peng is chosen as the group leader.	Selection of Group Leader: ttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1lsEo2mv0H2xAgLroh58QTEUY3MpNcEo3/view?usp=sharing
Group member	Total of 6 members including the group leader : 1. Leader: PAULINE TAN SHI PENG (KA20001) 2. Secretary: DHARSHINI DEEPA A/P V RAJESWARAN (KA20005) 3. NUR BASIRAH BT ABU MANSOR (EA20030) 4. JOHAN HAIQAL HILMAN BIN ROSLAN (AA 20181) 5. MUHAMMAD RIZAINI BIN MOHAMMAD RIZAL (AA20185) 6. MUHAMMAD AIMAN HAKEEMI BIN MOHAMMAD AZHAN (AA20172)	Screenshot of group members:
Group profile	- all the group members are requested to provide their biodata.	(Please refer to the attachments provided.)
Task planning	Group leader assigns tasks for each of the CID processes.	CID tasks recording : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hDUO21kXZhozXZQ_lw-YGFl-dOKymGuF/view?usp=sharing
Group topic	River Pollution in Malaysia : Causes and Solutions	Suggestion of Topic : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kMQBQZwjKdIYZLw_jSQSE-dCFak33MC4/view?usp=sharing Topic Selection : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HGbf3F-UZqDPQElqGdfpYHIVLAQdEhdw/view?usp=sharing
Justify; why choose this topic	1)      River pollution has significantly affected human’s lives over centuries and yet humans are unaware of the dangers they are situated in. 2)       Solutions must be regarded to solve the issues to avoid further contamination of the river which will then affect human’s daily activities.	Justification, Phase 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kMQBQZwjKdIYZLw_jSQSE-dCFak33MC4/view?usp=sharing Justification, Phase 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Em1TUAQpYfIi8laGOJQ4rG5dDZ7Fx7_c/view?usp=sharing Draft of Justification: https://sway.office.com/9yV1QAzVc05SSywe?ref=Link CID Solutions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E64eS_ZMDp6Io_5r3aGVAVaCV3DsiIdI/view?usp=sharing Selection of Best two Solutions : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E64eS_ZMDp6Io_5r3aGVAVaCV3DsiIdI/view?usp=sharing Blog Editing : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-IsbRCPDoloy57W1XjveKtbRWN_Nwmlg/view?usp=sharing

 

 

GROUP PROFILE

POSITION	BIODATA
LEADER	NAME : PAULINE TAN SHI PENG STUDENT ID : KA20001 FACULTY :  ENGINEERING COLLEGE - CHEMICAL  ENGINEERING EMAIL : paulinetansp1129@gmail.com HP. NO. : 01151475785 PERSONALITY : Live Life To The Fullest
SECRETARY	NAME : DHARSHINI DEEPA A/P V RAJESWARAN STUDENT ID : KA20005 FACULTY : ENGINEERING COLLEGE - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EMAIL : deepadharshini090499@gmail.com HP. NO. : 0133465380 PERSONAL QUOTES : Passion And Dedication Inspire Me To Keep Going No Matter What.
	NAME : NUR BASIRAH BT ABU MANSOR STUDENT ID :EA20030 FACULTY : ENGINEERING COLLEGE - ELECTRIC ELECTRONIC EMAIL :basirahnu22@gmail.com HP. NO. : 01137529396 PERSONAL QUOTES : Always Believe One Day There Will Be A Miracle
	NAME : MUHAMMAD AIMAN HAKEEMI BIN MOHAMMAD AZHAN STUDENT ID :AA20172 FACULTY :ENGINEERING COLLEGE - CIVIL ENGINEERING EMAIL :aimanhakeemi777@gmail.com HP. NO. : 01121091051 PERSONAL QUOTES : Work Smart Not Work Hard
	NAME : MUHAMMAD RIZAINI BIN MOHAMMAD RIZAL STUDENT ID : AA20185 FACULTY : ENGINEERING COLLEGE - CIVIL ENGINEERING EMAIL : rizainiboy@gmail.com HP. NO. : 01119427253 PERSONAL QUOTES : Practice Make Perfect
	NAME : JOHAN HAIQAL HILMAN BIN ROSLAN STUDENT ID : AA20181 FACULTY : ENGINEERING COLLEGE - CIVIL ENGINEERING EMAIL : joeqal.21@gmail.com HP. NO. : 017 348 6178 PERSONAL QUOTES : “ Never Dream About Success,                         Work For It”

 

 

 

 

3.0 PHASE 1 STEP 2 (WEEK 8) - IDENTIFY PROBLEM AND PROBLEM ANALYSIS [10%]

TASK	ACTIVITY
Identify the main problem	Why does river pollution occur in Malaysia affecting human’s lives?
Searching and gathering relevant information	Every member has searched for information related to river pollution and proposed their own opinion.
Information narrative	CID for this task is Dharshini Deepa.   Water is a significant influence on human life and aquatic life. The river is the water source for living human beings. The river is essential for a food source, economic activities, health conditions, and living human beings. Lately, river pollution has become worse because of the irresponsible attitude of the community and society. River pollution will also affect the extinction of aquatic life. This will affect marine life, such as fish, shrimp, and corals. Ecology and the food chain will decrease. River pollution will also be from oil spills. As a result, aquatic plants such as mangroves and weeds will be affected if the bird is exposed to oil. This will make it difficult for the bird to fly and, in turn, will die. Endangered species will also become extinct, such as turtles. An example that affects the extinction of turtles is the dumping of plastic in Terengganu waters, resulting in tens of thousands of turtles dying due to the ingestion of plastic thought to be food. So, the community must take the river pollution seriously. The solution is that the authorities should play an essential role in the enforcement of environmental laws.
Deep and critical analysis	* Please refer to the Microsoft Words file
Conclusion	* Please refer to the Microsoft Words file

 

 

 

 

4.0 PHASE 1 STEP 3 (WEEK 8) - SEARCH FOR INFORMATION, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, AND LOOKING FOR SOLUTION [10%]

TASK	ACTIVITY
Identify solution based on literature review	CID for this task is Nur Basirah and Johan Haiqal  * Please refer to the Microsoft Words file
List of solutions based on LR	CID for this task is all the group members. By raising awareness on the importance of conserving and preserving the river. By organising cleaning-up activities on the polluted river. By imposing fines on the irresponsible parties. By organising “Reducing River Pollution” week Having drone surveillance on the polluted river.   * Please refer to the discussion recording  * Please refer to the Microsoft Words file

  

 

 

 

 

5.0 PHASE 1 STEP 4 (WEEK 9) - SYNTHESIS: IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (DEVELOP ALTERNATIVES) [10%]

TASK	ACTIVITY
Deep analysis on the alternative solution	CID for this task are Nur Basirah and Johan Haiqal * Please refer to the Microsoft Words file
Deep discussion on the final solution	CID for this task is every member in the group * Please refer to the recording for the discussion. ** Please refer to the Microsoft Words file
Justify the solution	The best 2 solutions selected are Organising river pollution week Organising cleaning up activity * Please refer to the recording for the discussion * Please refer to the Microsoft Words file

 

 

 

 

6.0 PHASE 2 STEP 1 (WEEK 10) – DECISION MAKING: SELECT THE BEST WAY TO IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTION THROUGH INTERVIEW WITH EXPERTS [20%]

TASK	ACTIVITY
Online interview planning	CID for this task is Pauline Tan. After the group agrees to interview which expert, Pauline is responsible to make an appointment with the expert to conduct the online interview. Below is the screenshot of inviting an expert to conduct an online interview :
Question preparation	CID for this task is Aiman Hakim, the questions are : What does river pollution mean in scientific terms? Who is responsible for the increment of river pollution and why are they doing so? What are the effects of river pollution on the environment? To what extent river pollution can affect future human food supplies? How does river pollution affect the whole nation? Why do the river pollution issues fail to cease even though it has been decades and that there are laws enforced to reduce it?
How you conduct the online interview	CID for this task is all the group members. The online interview is conducted through a Zoom meeting. * Below is the link for the video recording : https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ar3fJhpl9RWShWUamyUduoPwA5qZ?e=fkHEfg
How your group analyze the feedback from the online interview.	CID for this task is Aiman Hakim and Muhammad Rizaini.
How your group agree to select a conclusion for solution.	CID for this task is all the group members.
How your group completes all the tasks and reports using MS Word or Google Docs.	CID for this task is all the group members. This task is completed through Google Docs. * Please refer to the Microsoft Words file
Who will send the report via KALAM? Please discuss.	CID for this task is the group leader - Pauline Tan * Below is the screenshot of the discussion of whom should send the report :

 

 

 

 

CENTRE FOR HUMAN SCIENCES

COURSE:  SOFT SKILLS

CODE: UHS1022

LECTURER: DR. MANSOR BIN SULAIMAN

 

CURRENT ISSUE DISCOVERY (CID) PROJECT

GROUP PORTFOLIO

 

1. Section: 03G
2. Group name: EXCELLENCY
3. Leader: PAULINE TAN SHI PENG (KA20001)

a)      Secretary : DHARSHINI DEEPA A/P V RAJESWARAN (KA20005)

b)      Member 1: NUR BASIRAH BT ABU MANSOR (EA20030)

c)      Member 2: JOHAN HAIQAL HILMAN BIN ROSLAN (AA 20181)

d)      Member 3: MUHAMMAD RIZAINI BIN MOHAMMAD RIZAL (AA20185)

e)      Member 4: MUHAMMAD AIMAN HAKEEMI BIN MOHAMMAD AZHAN (AA20172)

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIVER POLLUTION : CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

REASON OF CHOOSING THIS TOPIC : What is the implication if these issues are never solved?

        Water is a significant influence on human life and aquatic life. The river is the water source for living human beings. The river is essential for a food source, economic activities, health conditions, and living human beings. Lately, river pollution has become worse because of the irresponsible attitude of the community and society. River pollution will also affect the extinction of aquatic life. This will affect marine life, such as fish, shrimp, and corals. Ecology and the food chain will decrease. River pollution will also be from oil spills. As a result, aquatic plants such as mangroves and weeds will be affected if the bird is exposed to oil. This will make it difficult for the bird to fly and, in turn, will die. Endangered species will also become extinct, such as turtles. An example that affects the extinction of turtles is the dumping of plastic in Terengganu waters, resulting in tens of thousands of turtles dying due to the ingestion of plastic thought to be food. So, the community must stop the river pollution. The solution is that the authorities should play an essential role in the enforcement of environmental laws.

        The health condition will also affect river pollution because the main source of life is water. When the water is polluted, various diseases will occur. This river pollution will quickly facilitate the spread of bacteria, viruses, and parasites through the waste dumped into the river. Eventually, the spread of these microorganisms will increase water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Therefore, the water will be reduced because it does not prevent river pollution. Besides that, the daily activities cannot be continued such as washing cloth, drinking, eating, bathing and so on. Furthermore, these issues also affected the source of income of the population for fishermen. It is because the aquatic life that lives in dirty water will move to safer habitats.

        Finally, river pollution can cause the country’s economy to collapse. It is because no freshwater resource can be exported to international transport. Thus, it will be void when the demand cannot fulfil. This can also lead to fights and hostilities. In other words, ‘War’. The number of tourists who travel to the country will reduce due to the lack of a beautiful and clean beach. This also can cause the country’s economy to collapse because of the affecting tourism industry. Then, when the river becomes dirty, it will be blocked and cause flooding. This situation will be burdening the government because it will cost a lot for flooding cases. Therefore, we must protect our river for future generations to enjoy freshwater and do their daily activities.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

STEP 2 (WEEK 8) - IDENTIFY PROBLEM AND PROBLEM ANALYSIS (5WH)

Water is an essential inorganic liquid for the survival of the environment and ecological series on earth. The ocean covers 70% of the earth’s surface, contains over 97% percent of the earth’s water and only 3% of freshwater is available for use. The river is a naturally flowing water body covering just a tiny portion of the world's freshwater. Many cities and civilizations have been developed around freshwater supplied by rivers and streams for decades, and residents use the water supply for domestic, transportation, hydropower generation, and agriculture. The use of water for urbanization has increased over time as the human population has expanded. As a result of this, the river's water quality deteriorates due to its widespread use in many aspects of human life. Toxic compounds such as inorganic, organic, radioactive, and others enter streams and are dissolved, suspended, or settle on the riverbed, polluting the river.

For many years, Malaysia's rivers have been heavily polluted due to citizen’s reckless behavior. River pollution in Malaysia needs to be monitored and controlled from getting worse because it will seriously damage the country and ecological system. One of the major causes of river pollution is the extinction of aquatic life. There are many sources of water pollutants, such as industrial discharge, agriculture runoff and sewage waste dumped in the river, gradually transforming the water to be highly toxic. According to the findings, industrial effluent, wastewater treatment plants, domestic and commercial areas are the primary sources of water contamination in the Langat River. This will negatively impact the environment because healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi. Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial discharge and urban wastewater contaminate the flow, making it extremely harmful to marine life and limiting their ability to reproduce.

Additionally, marine debris such as plastic bags and garbage accumulating in the river can strangle and suffocate marine life. Furthermore, algal blooms occur when nutrients in aquatic environments are increased, causing phytoplankton and other photosynthetic plants to proliferate. Consequently, algal blooms minimize the amount of dissolved oxygen available for other aquatic animal and plant habitats to breathe. When the dissolved oxygen level in the water exceeds hypoxic levels, marine animals and plant species such as shrimp and fish suffocate to death. Besides, the dense growth of algal blooms and photosynthetic bacteria in surface waters can also block water systems, limiting safe drinking water availability and decreasing water quality.

Pollution in rivers causes harm to human health. Water-borne diseases in bacteria and viruses caused by human activities are a significant source of illness and death from polluted drinking water. Once the waste is discarded in rivers, bacteria quickly dissolve in water, contaminating piped water and inflicting various side effects such as diarrhea, infection, vomiting, and so on if ingested. Precisely, without clean and fresh water, residents are unable to perform basic household tasks such as bathing, eating, washing clothes, and many more.

Moreover, the economic recession is another factor affecting the rate of river pollution. Rivers provide income through agricultural activities for many people, and a polluted river would reduce stocks of fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic life on which some economies depend. Thus, river water is important for various purposes, including residential use, industry, irrigation, and numerous other activities. Water quality in Malaysia must be regulated and preserved to ensure the safety, freshness, and cleanliness of the water. It reduces the usability of services for many people and the environment.

 

 

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

STEP 3 (WEEK 8) - SEARCH AND MANAGE FOR INFORMATION, AND FIND THE SOLUTION

1.         Raise awareness of the importance of conserving and preserving the river.

      First of all, carrying out an awareness program of the importance of conserving and preserving the river is one of the solutions for river pollution. The reason for conducting this program is due to the lack of education and concern of the society towards the environment. This program should contain speech on the effect of river pollution and the steps that can be taken to reduce pollution rates. It needs to explain the increment of river issues in Malaysia and their effects by displaying real-life images of the consequences. In this way, the community can observe and acknowledge a genuine picture of  the ill effects of the irresponsible actions of certain people. In addition, video screenings can be provided to influence the community’s thoughts to allow them to be environmentally conscious and take care of the systematic river. This solution is a good way to start educating the residents to take care of the river bank.

2.         Clean up activity on the polluted river

Secondly, cleaning up activity on the polluted river is also a possible solution to preventing river pollution. This program is run to ensure the river is free from foreign substances such as rubbish that contributes to the pollution. The quote ‘The action is better than words’ should ring a bell to each and every one of us. On the account of this activity, it helps to conserve the marine life ecosystem. To elaborate, when a river is polluted, it will then flow to the sea as they are all connected to each other. As such, when the river is contaminated with rubbish, it will eventually meet the sea. If the river water is polluted, so will the sea as well. This activity instills the spirit of “gotong–royong” cooperation to clean the polluted river while improving the well-being and healthy quality of life. Simultaneously, it could bring the value of loving the environment to the community for the river's future generations. After that, the overall clean river activity is essential because rivers also play a contribution to the eco-tourism sectors in Malaysia.

3.         Imposes fines on irresponsible parties

Moreover, the authorities should increase the fines at a much higher rate than previously and enforce a law of imprisoning the  irresponsible parties. This punishment should be strictly imposed, especially on factories that have released dangerous toxins into the river and those who carry out logging activities. When the toxin is released from factories and mixed with river water, the level of cleanliness of the water deteriorates and can invite various diseases to the individuals who use that water source. At the same time, the logging activity causes soil erosion that will reduce the water in the river. So it is very appropriate for them to be prosecuted for endangering the locals who use the river-water as the primary source in their daily activities. Besides that, this punishment would tarnish their image and reputation; for instance, a news report on the X company manager is being arrested for harming the river. Consequently, those offenders who have bad records for being sentenced to jail will leave an unpleasant impression on society as well as the companies because of their reckless and unwise exploits on the river. These individuals will have a hard time looking for a new job and might be having a hard time living normal as they used to be. These should serve as a lesson to them to not harm the rivers.

4. Organise ‘reducing river pollution’ week

Furthermore, by organising “River Pollution Week”, this program can be held at schools, universities or even residential areas in a week of the period. This solution is thrilling as there will be many fun activities that can be executed to  attract people to participate in this memorable event. To illustrate, activities include talks on river pollution, organizing some pop quizzes,  making posters about “stop river pollution because we care”,  and creating prototypes using recycled materials collected. Adding up, lucky draws and prizes should be also awarded to selected winners of each competition. It is a good way to create awareness and educate them about river pollution issues and nurture them to be responsible for keeping the river clean and maintained.

 

5. Drone surveillance on the polluted river

Lastly, as the times are moving forward, technologies also have evolved  throughout the centuries. To demonstrate this point, the creation of  drones is one example of technology advancement that becomes a trendy gadget in many ways. A drone, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology is used to monitor a place from the air without humans boarding a plane or helicopter to capture something on land. In this context, a drone can be used to supervise the polluted rivers from time to time. It can also detect individuals at night so that it can give early warnings if there are suspicious illegal activities detected. Evidence can be collected based on the drone’s images captured when the culprits are doing illegal activities. This could provide solid proof to the relevant authorities if they ever denied their own actions. In addition, drones also can collect data and are able to take a water sample. Drones surveillance is a proactive measure to prevent river pollution. It can also ease the enforcement team as the security level becomes stronger. To coin it out, it is proved that a drone is able to be an advisable medium to keep the river clean.

In conclusion, these solutions provided are wise and active measures that can be taken to solve the increment in river pollution. It is crucial that we take early steps and actions to hinder further damages to the river as rivers also play a role in providing a drinking water source to the human and also a source of income for certain people such as fishermen who depend their livelihood on the rivers. Humans from all walks of life should play their roles in preserving and conserving rivers instead of putting the responsibilities on other people. Rivers are gifts from Gods and we are obliged to protect them at all costs.

STEP 4 (WEEK 9) - SYNTHESIS: IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (DEVELOP ALTERNATIVES)

DEEP T-ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

1. Clean-Up Activity On The Polluted River

PROS

CONS

●       Help conserve the marine life ecosystem ●     Instilling the spirit of cooperation and working together as teams to clean the rivers, ●     Can reduce the possibility of landslides or flash floods as the lesser the rubbish, the lesser the sediment under the river, doing so, water can flow easily and smoothly without bursting the riverbanks during heavy downpours. ●     A clean river can attract tourists, providing good potential in improving our economy.

●       Hectic life of students and people. They may not have time to participate in activities. ●       Do not have adequate and suitable types of equipment. ●       Some rivers may contain harsh chemicals besides plastic. So, it will be hard for them to clean it and also it is dangerous for children due to heavy water conditions.

 

 

2. Organising ‘Reducing River Pollution’ Week

PROS

CONS

●       An excellent way to educate people, especially youth, about the river pollution ●       Lucky draws and prizes also included cash prizes, hampers, and certificates as a symbol of appreciation. These gifts can attract them to take part in the activities. ●       Crowdfunding can be made to donate for environmental association purposes for future activities. ●       Create awareness for them to pay attention more seriously to make sure the river’s cleanliness is maintained.

●       Might gain low support from the people as they are not enthusiastic to be part of the event. ●       Fundings allocated may be insufficient to carry out the event ●       The event requires some time to be planned or carried out. ●       The targeted number of participants may not be achieved.

 

 

 

 

PHASE 2 : STEP 1 (WEEK 10) - DECISION MAKING: SELECT THE WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING THE TWO BEST SOLUTIONS THROUGH ONLINE INTERVIEW WITH EXPERTS

 

First of all, we have invited Professor Madya Ts. Dr Azilah Bt Ajit @ Abd Aziz to be the expert in our interview session. We began with questions on environmental pollution. The responses given by the expert are written down as shown.

 

1)         What does river pollution mean in scientific terms?

➢     When the one kind of foreign substances that enter the water, especially from human activities,  and industries due to human ignorance on their activities.

➢     Water pollution, to simplify, is the contamination of water bodies, usually occur due to human activities.

➢     Water bodies include, for example, lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater.

➢     In Malaysia, we are still using the river as a water resource.

➢     The clean water quality from 2008 to 2017 has been decreasing significantly. 

➢     To monitor the cleanliness of the water, the government has introduced the WQI.

➢     The water quality index (WQI) is a measurement used to assess the level of pollution and categorise it into classes as stipulated in Malaysia’s National Water Quality standards (NWQs).

➢     WQI is a preliminary means of assessment of a water body.

➢     Malaysia has over 1000 manuals and automatic river water quality monitoring by the Department of Environment (DOE).

➢     Other stations maintained by other agencies such as the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).

 

2)         Who is responsible for the increase of river pollution, and why are they doing so?

➢     It is our responsibility as a human to take care of our environment.

➢     As future engineers, we should expose and give the young generation the awareness of how to take care, look after, protect, and protect nature from pollution.

➢     All these consequences, such as flash floods, landslides came from humans, where selfishness took control of them and neglected the environment’s well-being.

➢     Due to human arrogance, we take these river pollution issues lightly.

➢     The industry's manufacturers, for example, thought that by just paying the summons, the problem related to river pollution is settled. However, they failed to realise that the government issued the summons to make them aware of their unconscious activities on the river.

➢     One famous example of polluted rivers cases is the river near the Jelapang Industrial, based on the news report. (Free Malaysia Today, 10 April 2020). The river has turned foamy and milky due to pollution allegedly caused by waste from a nearby factory.

➢     Another one is the Sungai Muda Kedah, where the river has become the threat of pollution from an e-waste dump. (Free Malaysia Today, 5 February 2020) E-waste here is referring to the discard of electronic devices such as mobile phones.

➢     Sungai Kim Kim, Johor is also one example of river pollution cases where the chemicals illegally discarded into the river. P Tech Resource, two directors of the used tyre-processing company, have been slapped with 15 charges for polluting the river. (News Straits Times, 25 March 2019).

 

3)         What are the effects of river pollution on the environment?

➢     The adage “What goes around comes around” rings a bell.

➢     The human activities that polluted the river have, too, been affecting human daily activities and health.

➢     The effect of pollution on humans is the diseases spread by unsafe water, including cholera, giardia and typhoid.

➢     The destruction of the ecosystem is one of the consequences. Malaysia has rich aquatic ecosystems that supply vital resources such as water, food, medicine, commercial aquatic resources, energy, transport, and social development. Also, it provides flood control, erosion prevention and shoreline protection. However, the ubiquitous and abundant supplies of these resources have resulted in minimal concern of conservation due to the exploitation of greedy humans.

➢     Waterborne diseases caused by polluted drinking water are typhoid Amoebiasis, giardiasis, Ascariasis and Hookworm, commonly occurring in countries without the supply of clean water.

➢     Meanwhile, the waterborne diseases caused by polluted beach water is rashes, earache, pink eye, respiratory infections, Hepatitis, encephalitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach aches.

 

4)         To what extent river pollution can affect future human food supplies?

➢     Effect of water pollution is diseases, Destruction of Ecosystems and Effects on the food chain.

➢     Because of the existing heavy metal inside the river, it will be dangerous to humans. Aquatic animals will consume heavy metal. Then when humans consume it, the chemical content-mercury will transfer into our body, resulting in us humans contradicting diseases.

 

5)         How does river pollution affect the whole nation?

➢     Water pollution is the cause of untreated drinking water, profit loss in the tourism sector (swimming, snorkelling, boating), and damage to commercial fishing and shellfish harvests.

➢     Selangor is the state with the most industries, and that is why the condition of the river at Selangor is the worst.

➢     The government spends a lot of money to make sure the water is safe and clean for consumption.

➢     However, thanks to the pandemic COVID-19, the poisons and rubbish have been reduced due to the government implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). Humans cannot conduct illegal activities as frequently as they used to be.

➢     To illustrate, when the tourists come to Temerloh to taste seafood there, it turns out to be poisoned. This situation scares them away as it will harm them, which results in lesser tourism to that particular place.

➢     In a broader scope, it will affect the country’s tourism sector, affecting its economy.

 

6)         Why do the river pollution issues fail to cease even though it has been decades and that laws are enforced to reduce it?

➢     For the pollution, it happens in two types which are nonpoint sources, if point sources are directly by industries, that means the office controls it.

➢     It is more difficult to control if it is nonpoint sources because we cannot determine which waste. So because of that, we did not have proper and effective ways to handle it.

➢     We are still failing to handle it because we still did not have the best guideline.

➢     Some of the companies locate the factory far from town and far from the farm.

➢     In some villages, they did not have the proper water to drink. It is because of high rates of water wastage.

➢     The NGO can do the river walk while collecting the rubbish in the river and planting the tree again.

➢     During the MCO, river pollution is improving because of the leaks of human activities. This situation has shown that almost 100% of river pollution has come from human activities.

➢     We can improve river pollution if we have awareness.

 

 

 

 

FEEDBACK ON THE WAYS OF IMPLEMENTATIONS OF SOLUTIONS

(from Professor Madya Ts. Dr Azilah Bt Ajit @ Abd Aziz)

In conjunction with the solutions that we have discussed, we have come up with several ways to implement the solution to make these solutions work and not merely an idea. As we had our interview with the expert, we have asked for her feedback on the ways of implementing these solutions that we have planned.

            First, we suggested that we create a Google Form survey to encourage people to participate in the river pollution week. We have targeted university students as it will be implemented in Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). We agreed that we would do it in the first month after establishing this implementation. We figure out that this would be around RM200 as we are considering the cleaning tools that we should provide to the participants. Feedback given by Dr Azilah was that we should encourage both primary and secondary school students, not merely focus on university students, because we as mentors should motivate more people to take part in the activity. Furthermore, if we were to do a survey, then the questions asked should be simple and straightforward to understand better and join the activity. She added again that, since it is Movement Control Period (MCO), implementing it would not be appropriate, and it is not advisable to do it during this pandemic period. However, she did agree that we should carry out river pollution week along with the community as it is a good way of saving the environment and the river. She also pointed out that the Chemistry Faculty from UMP had done this similar activity some time ago and received good outcomes. To sum up, in her opinion, we should carry it out when the situation allows, not during the pandemic season,

            Next, we suggested that we create and share posts of the importance of conserving river pollution on social media, such as Facebook or Instagram. We would create a page to upload the relevant river pollution posts in it and invite others who also have social media to join the page. We will create our posts with adaptations to those on the internet and our creativity in designing the poster to convey the vital message. We planned that we would carry it out in a month. It would be a zero-budget plan as we are using social media to transmit our voice and spread the words on the importance of conserving the river. We received feedback that Dr Azilah suggested that we create eye-soothing and beautiful posts as these types of posts are more attractive and interesting. Thus, we will be able to convey our messages on the importance of river pollution better. She also said that we could organize a poster or drawing competition online so that people would be more enthusiastic about this activity. With that competition organized, we can prepare small gifts as a token of appreciation and share the winner’s poster on social media pages. She also added that this is an entrancing activity and should be carried out more often than just a month. She added that kids, especially, believed that they would be very thrilled to participate in this activity. To sum up, in her opinion, this is a good way of implementing those solutions.

           

Thirdly, we planned to collaborate with about 2 UMP Environmental Engineering lecturers to conduct an online talk on the river pollution issues. We would carry it out also in a month but in the second month of our implementation period. We set our budgets to be around RM100 to prepare some gifts as a token of appreciation. The feedback we received from Dr, Azilah was that this activity could be done together with the river pollution week to leave better impacts of river pollution on the community.

In conclusion, the feedback that we received from the expert, Professor Madya Ts. Dr Azilah Bt Ajit @ Abd Aziz the best way of implementing those solutions is by sharing awareness through posts on social media as it impacts humans better. Nowadays, with these technological advancements, almost everyone has mobile phones and they all have social media, which would be advantageous for us to share the awareness. Moreover, with the pandemic going on and has not completely ceased, it is always better to do the implementation online. Therefore, with the advice and suggestions given by the expert, we have chosen to proceed by her means.

   

 

 

 

REFERENCES

1. Amirudin Shari. (2020). Penyelesaian Isu Pencemaran Air. Media. https://www.amirudinshari.com/posts/penyelesaian-isu-pencemaran-air
2. Bernama. (2020, October 19). RM2 Million for Drones to Monitor River Pollution. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/10/19/rm2-million-for-drones-to-monitor-river-pollution.
3. Star, T. (2017, March 3). Support Campaign to River Clean. https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2017/03/03/support-campaign-to-keep-river-clean. 
4. GEC. (n.d.). River Care Programme. https://www.gec.org.my/index.cfm?&menuid=333. 
5. Hassan, H. (2020, November 19). (N. H.Rodzi, Ed.)New Laws, Surveillance Drones Deployed in Selangor to Combat Water Pollution Crisis.   https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/selangor-to-relocate-factories-from-river-banks-and-deploy-surveillance-drones-to.
6. Sciencing. (2019, November 22). What Are the Solutions to Water Pollution? https://sciencing.com/solutions-water-pollution-7202971.html
7. Sensorex. (2020, May 29).9 Effective Water Pollution Solutions to Protect Our Environment. https://sensorex.com/blog/2020/05/26/effective-water-pollution-solutions-to-protect-our-environment/
8. Star, T. (2017, March 3). Support Campaign to River Clean. https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2017/03/03/support-campaign-to-keep-river-clean.