PASIR GUDANG: Kampung Bukit Pulai villagers, here, remain traumatised and fearful of any odour emanating from the nearby Sungai Kim Kim.
It has been five years since the toxic waste pollution tragedy in Sungai Kim Kim, yet the mere smell of any odour emitted from the river, makes them jittery.
Villagers claimed that the nauseating chemical odour resembling the first toxic waste pollution odour, occurred several times in recent years, including early this year.
Nur Satria Rabu, 37, who stays about 20m from the river claimed she was startled by a pungent smell in mid-January after it rained heavily that night.
"The odour immediately took me back to the March 7, 2019, toxic waste pollution.
"My heart started racing … there was a thick oil smell in the air similar to the 2019 odour. I went out to look at Sungai Kim Kim.
"Other villagers were there to, to our surprise the river had turned black, emitting a pungent odour," he said.
The villagers called the Department of Environment (DoE) to report the incident.
The river water turned black and had a foul smell for about an hour before it disappeared with the current.
DoE officers took samples of the foul-smelling black water.
Nur Satria said there had been more than five incidents last year, when Sungai Kim Kim turned black and emitted a pungent chemical odour.
When this happened, the smell would linger for some time and the river turned black for about 40 minutes before the 'subtance' was swept away by currents.
Nur Satria said over the years, Sungai Kim Kim became shallower and its banks were covered with rubbish.
He said the residents' nightmare in 2019 have made villlagers almost 'experts' about it and they believe they are able to sense whenever the river becomes polluted.
"If Sungai Kim Kim is polluted, the river will turn black with a 'stinging' foul odour like thick oil. It will turn green due to the discharge with this kind of excrement-like odour," she said, adding that in other times, the river would be the colour of milk tea.
Meanwhile, contractors appointed by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) were seen carrying out embankment works to strengthen the riverbanks recently.
The Sungai Kim Kim toxic waste tragedy occurred between March 7 and 20, 2019, involving 5,039 victims.
Some 1,228 were hospitalised while 26 were treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).
One victim, Irfan Wafiy Idham Wazir, 16, is suffering from Myokymia.
Myokymia refers to a medical condition characterised by involuntary, spontaneous, and repetitive muscle twitching, usually caused by stress and fatigue.
His family have said that there is no cure for Irfan's Myokymia, and it had been caused by the pollution.
He and several other residents filed lawsuits against 12 defendants including the federal and state governments, and the menteri besar.
They are claiming damages amounting to RM30 million in a civil suit on Jan 22. The proceedings are ongoing, are expected to be continued in June, August and October this year.