PLANS to build a centralized toxic waste plant in Bukit Nenas near Port Dickson ran into problems from residents living near the site in Negri Sembilan.

A spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund Malaysia, a Kuala Lumpur-based non-government organization, said authorities must consider the effects of potential accidents and the cumulative effect of small and often negligible discharges of chemicals on the surroundings, the workers and the population.

The Malaysian federal government has given an assurance that the plant would not pollute water sources, particularly underground water, and was free from the threat of earthquake.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that the government was prepared to pay the political cost because of the pressing need for such a facility.

He said: "No state government is willing to allocate land for such a dump especially when there is no foolproof way of disposing of toxic wastes. We are aware that we may lose the constituency in which the dumb is sited, but that is the price we have to pay."

But in the last election~ his National Front coalition was returned to power in the state, winning all seven parliamentary seats and 30 state seats, which would effectively silence opposition to the plant.

The Bukit Nenas plan would be able to treat about 300,000 tonnes of industrial waste annually. The project is being developed by a consortium of companies headed by I. Kruger of Denmark.

However, the spokesman  for WWF Malaysia said: "A treatment facility is not a solution to the problem of industrial waste treatment in itself. It should be part of an overall programme of waste reduction, stricter enforcement, education and training."

Source : The Straits Times, 12th  May 1995