All schools in Pasir Gudang to reopen Mar 31 after chemical waste incident
23 March, 2019
All 111 schools in the Pasir Gudang area closed following the Sungai Kim Kim chemical waste pollution incident, will reopen on Mar 31, said Johor Education Department deputy director Azman Adnan on Tuesday (Mar 22).
Schools had been shut after illegal dumping of chemical waste into Sungai Kim Kim earlier this month caused a wave of poisoning cases in Pasir Gudang.
Azman said work to clean up the schools would be carried out first, with the cooperation of the Parent-Teacher Association.
“Those involved in the cleaning up will be the parents, communities, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and the private sector. Students won’t be involved,” he said in a statement.
He said a meeting of the State Disaster Management Committee, set up to tackle the disposal of chemical waste in Sungai Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, decided on Mar 19 to halt Ops Sungai Kim Kim, the clean-up operation.
"The Disaster Operations Control Centre will also be closed as the situation is almost back to normal.
"As such, all schools in Pasir Gudang will be opened again from Sunday, which is Mar 31,” Azman said.
Education Minister Maszlee Malik had ordered all the 111 schools in Pasir Gudang to be closed from Mar 13 until further notice.