IPOH, Nov 5 — The Perak state government has ordered three mining companies in Hulu Perak to temporarily suspend operations following reports that the waters of the Perak River turned blue near Kampung Sungai Papan in Gerik.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said the directive was issued immediately after the state government received preliminary findings regarding the incident.
“All three companies involved were operating legally, but once instructed to cease operations temporarily, they complied,” he told reporters after attending the Madani Loyalty Tour Program for Perak at the Ipoh Convention Centre on Wednesday.
Saarani said the state government views the incident seriously and has taken swift action, directing State Secretary Datuk Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim and relevant agencies to investigate the source of the contamination.
“We have instructed the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS), Department of Minerals and Geoscience (JMG), Land and Mines Office (PTG), District Office, and the Department of Environment (DOE) to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the cause of the discoloration,” he said.
He added that an official statement from the state government will be issued after the weekly State Executive Council (Exco) meeting on Thursday.
Earlier, Malaysia Gazette (MG) Perak reported that the cause of the blue discoloration in Sungai Perak would only be confirmed after laboratory analysis of water samples.
According to Perak DOE Director Datuk Dr. Mohammad Ezanni Mat Salleh, the Water Quality Index (WQI) as of October 9 was 93, which falls within Class I to IIA, indicating that the river’s water quality remained within acceptable limits.
However, DOE Director-General Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar later confirmed that initial checks had identified three mining activities upstream of the river — one rare earth (REE) site and two tin mines — as areas of focus for ongoing investigation.