KOTA KINABALU, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Sabah Tourism, Culture and EnvironmentMinister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat said Monday only three rivers in Sabah arepolluted.

According to a report by the Department of Environment which was assistedby the State Environment Protection Department that monitored 50 riversand 13 river basins, the Sungai Likas near here, Sungai Menggaris in KotaMarudu and Sungai Burung Dua in Kalumpang, Tawau were polluted, he saidduring the question and answer session at the State Legislative Assemblysitting, here.

He said this when replying to Liew Teck Chan (BN-Likas) who wanted to knowthe number of rivers in Sabah that were polluted and the measures taken bythe government to ensure the water was safe for consumption.

Chong said that a study by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah, meanwhile, saidthat the Sungai Likas was slightly polluted due to the direct discharge ofwaste water especially by squatters living along the river banks.

The Sungai Menggaris and Sungai Burung Dua were polluted due to thedischarge of oil palm waste by several factories located near the river,he said.

Chong said the Department of Environment would take appropriate actionagainst the factories which were polluting the rivers.

He said the government had taken measures to protect a large section ofthe main water catchment areas in Sabah to ensure that there was adequatewater supply for the future generation and that it was safe forconsumption.

Among the areas gazetted as Sabah Parks are the Crocker Range NationalPark covering 139,919 hectares which formed the catchment area for theSungai Tuaran, Sungai Moyog, Sungai Papar, Sungai Padas and SungaiPagalan.

In addition, the 75,370-hectare Taman Kinabalu which formed the catchmentarea for Sungai Sugut, Sungai Labuk, Sungai Kedamaian, Sungai Bandau, aswell as the 27,972-hectare Taman Bukit Tawau, the catchment area forSungai Tawau, were also gazetted as Sabah Parks.

-- BERNAMA