The site, located on a parcel of private land, is believed to have been operating for more than a year and is being used for the disposal of industrial waste.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) spokesman Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman said the authorities should conduct an investigation into the site, which has become a landfill.

“If the waste disposed of there is indeed industrial waste, then the authorities need to take action against those responsible for the act,” he told the media here today.

“The authorities should also reveal whether the substances are harmful to the environment, scheduled waste or just residual organic compounds.”

If the refuse was merely residual organic waste, the people responsible could have just disposed of it at available landfills set up by the local authority, he said.

Meanwhile, the resort’s owner, Nasaruddin Umar, said the dumpsite was discovered when work was being carried out at the resort.

He said villagers who operated homestays had been complaining of worsening water quality at a nearby river.

Other villagers who operated fish farms using the river water also claimed that their fish had died and suspected the resort to be the cause of the problem.

When contacted, state Environment Department director Rosli Zul said he would be sending officers to the site to gather samples of the waste.

The samples would then be sent to the Chemistry Department to be analysed, he said.

“The department will also trace the landowner with the help of the Kinta district land office and investigate the claims,” he added.