JOHOR BAHRU: Sultan Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has expressed regret over the pollution in Sungai Danga after seeing for himself how the river had turned into a rubbish-floating eyesore.

Sultan Ibrahim at about 9 am today had driven his Air Boat along the river to inspect its cleanliness and also the riverbank surroundings and was not happy with what he saw.

After the inspection, the Ruler instructed State Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan to immediately take action and resolve the problem.

"The Health and Environment Exco should take note of this matter, do not look at health issues alone, the environment is also an important part of the people's lives.

"There must be continuous work, as well enforcement and monitoring. Don't wait to be reprimanded before scrambling to do things," Sultan Ibrahim said in a post on his official Facebook page today.

The Ruler also ordered Vidyananthan to immediately prepare a report on polluted rivers in the state.

"There have been a lot of allocations given to agencies and departments to protect the rivers and environment, but there is no impact," Sultan Ibrahim added.

-- BERNAMA