MUAR: Malaysians can only dream of all rivers and the natural ecosystem returning to the good old days, said Force of Nature Foundation chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail. 

Speaking to river watch groups from three villages in Pagoh, he said the damage caused to the ecosystem, including mangrove swamps, was irreparable. 

He said that efforts to replant bakau trees in Perak ended in failure as they died after several weeks and the survival rate was between 25% and 30%. 

Creating awareness: Razali (second from right) presenting river ecology brochures to Muar district officer Abdul Rahman Jaafar in Pagoh recently.

“We can cultivate the seedlings, but after we plant them along the shores, they die due to the influence of the tide and other elements. 

“It is not like in natural growth where the trees grow healthy and without problem,” he said at the launch of the foundation’s first ecological programme near Pagoh recently. 

Razali said the Government should carry out detailed environment studies before implementing development plans to ensure there was no negative impact on the ecology. 

He said the river system should not be disrupted and all river clearing and deepening should be carried out without causing disruption to the ecology. 

He said, in the old days, all riverbanks were covered with trees and jungles but today most were cleared and replaced with grass to enable machines to enter the areas to deepen or widen the waterways. 

He said that people should not just agree to whatever the Government said and should question if a plan or a policy had a negative impact on the ecology. 

On the river ecology awareness programme, Razali said the foundation, with the cooperation of the Global Environment Centre, selected Sungai Pagoh for its first project. 

He said about 60 residents, including village heads, adults and youths from Kampung Jayor, Kampung Raja and Kampung Brohol had been appointed as river rangers. 

He said their duties were to help monitor the waterway which flowed from Kampung Jayor and passed Pagoh town before reaching Sungai Muar near Kampung Brohol. 

Earlier, Global Environment Centre chairman Zainudin Ismail said the area was badly hit by the floods of 2006 and 2007, which forced more than 20,000 villagers to seek shelter at relief centres. 

He said most of the flood victims, including children, were traumatised by the destruction caused by the huge volume of water, which hit their homes and villages. 

“We want residents to know and understand the river ecology so that they can better cope when hit by floods. 

“At the same time, we want them to help monitor the river for any destruction and pollution as we want the river to always remain clean,” he added.