klang and thames

The River of Life project initiated to galvanise the Klang river aims to make the 110 kilometre stretch of pollution suitable for recreational use by the year 2020.

Fortunate to be able to join a media boat ride up the river organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, I was able to experience first hand the notorious repulsive stench that permeated from some stretches of the river.

As our boat navigated away from our starting point at the Selangor Yacht Club in Port Klang, we were greeted, not only by the effluent smell but also by the sight of waste throughout the journey. 

There were even parts of the river that were less than two feet deep!

The Klang river begins somewhere in the highlands 25 kilometres northeast of Kuala Lumpur and flows through four major cities along the way: Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur and Klang.

It is easy to blame the pollution in the river as a by-product of the incessant development that's taking place in those cities.

This is not helped by the sight of illegal residences that spring up along the river's quieter sections as well as the ignorance of the general population in caring for the river.

It would be wise for the minds in charge of the project to make an example of what England did to revitalise the Thames river.

Having been declared biologically dead in the 1950s, it has made a remarkable comeback, its waters now teeming with wildlife that had disappeared and have begun re-establishing their habitats. 

Thanks to consistent efforts over fifty years, the Thames was awarded the 2010 International Theiss River Prize by the International River Foundation, in recognition of its achievements in river management and restoration.

One cannot be blamed for being skeptical at the effort to restore the Klang River by the year 2020.

If it took five decades for the Thames to be restored, what hope have we to restore the Klang in the next eight years?

There are silver linings to be drawn, though. The river can be saved without having to hit rock bottom. 

It is not in as dire straits as the Thames was when restoration works began. 

The water has been classified as polluted and unsafe for skin contact, not dead. The wildlife has yet to totally desert the river on its less smelly stretches, judging from the family of otters, bangau and other birds we saw on our trip.

As long as the noble individuals involved in the project stick to their aims and schedules with the same unwavering consistency shown by the English, then we may even scoop an International Theiss River Prize of our own!