No to building of sewage plant - The Star

April 19, 2008 By HAH FOONG LIAN

TAMAN Golf residents in Ipoh are upset with the construction of a sewage treatment plant located near their housing estate.

Taman Golf Action Committee chairman Ropee Adman said the residents were concerned that the septic tank, constructed by the Royal Perak Golf Club (RPGC), could result in a stench problem.

“We anticipate there will be such a problem and we don’t want the septic tank to be sited so close to us,” he said on Sunday after a gathering to protest over the building of the sewage plant at Lorong Gopeng in Ipoh.

Ropee pointed out that the RPGC had an old sewage treatment plant located near the clubhouse and it could have been upgraded instead of building a new one so close to the residential area.

“This is a total disregard for their neigh-bours. The RPGC does not want its members to smell the odour but wants us to smell it,” Ropee said.

“What’s worse is that after we had complained to them, they worked even harder at completing the sewage plant,” he added.

Committee secretary Loh Yoon Thong noted that the location of the sewage plant was not a suitable choice.

This, he said, was because the area was prone to floods and it would create problems for the residents.

Loh said the residents had met the club management for a dialogue to raise their concerns during which the management assured them that the design of the sewage plant would be a “state of the art construction” and it would not give out any foul odour.

“We are not convinced and we hope the matter will be resolved quickly,” he said, adding that there was no buffer zone created between the houses and the sewage plant.

Canning assemblyman Wong Kah Woh, who met the residents at the gathering, said he hoped to arrange a meeting for the residents with the state government to resolve the matter.