The Kedah government will not tolerate unlicensed plastic waste recycling factories in Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani, Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir said today.

Monitoring by the state government found 15 factories operating without a licence and they were issued with an order to stop operations but a few have been defiant, he said.

“We have discussed with Tenaga Nasional and Sada (Syarikat Air Darul Aman) for the electricity and water supplies to be disconnected, and it is hoped that these can be done immediately,” he told a press conference after the weekly meeting of the state executive council at Wisma Darul Aman.

A newspaper reported on July 5, that the air in Bakar Arang is polluted due to the presence of several plastic waste recycling factories there.

Nevertheless, State Chinese and Siamese Affairs, Science and Technology, Climate Change and Environment Committee chairman Simon Ooi Tze Min said yesterday that the air quality in Bakar Arang is still good.

On another matter, Mukhriz said the state government and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) plan to develop the Kedah Digital Library at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial here, with the allocation for the project provided by NCIA with the agreement of the Federal Government.

“[…] And in the near future, we will see a renewal at the memorial, with a popular digital centre,” he said.

- Bernama