He said the polluted rivers were in six states and territories: Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Sarawak.
Fadillah, who is also the energy transition and water transformation minister, said the list of polluted waterways includes Sungai Bakar Arang (Kedah), Sungai Jawi (Penang), Sungai Buloh (Selangor), Sungai Kerayong (Kuala Lumpur) and Sungai Adong (Sarawak).
He said the polluted rivers contain various sources of organic pollutants, including wastewater from industrial, domestic and commercial activities.
“I have chaired the first meeting of the committee on deterioration of river water quality, and today’s meeting saw four presentation papers.
“The DoE has presented the status of rivers in Malaysia, which are either clean, medium or polluted.
“The department monitors 672 rivers nationwide, with 486 rivers (72%) in the clean category; 161 rivers (24%) in the medium category; and 25 rivers (4%) in the polluted category,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.
Fadillah said it was agreed that a special committee be established at state level to address the deterioration of river water quality.
“All state representatives attending this meeting will bring this matter to their respective states, to obtain guidance and approval at the state government level,” he said.
He said the meeting also agreed to hold a workshop on river management, legislation, regulations, policies and implementation.
“We agreed, within one month from today, to hold a workshop, which will involve the jurisdiction of the state, federal and local authorities,” he said.
The committee also emphasised the use of an integrated river basin management action plan to help improve river water quality.
To ensure success, the cooperation of state and federal governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations is crucial, he said.
Fadillah also said the meeting was informed about the development of the artificial intelligence river rating and ranking system (AiR3S), which can be used in the country’s river basins by all stakeholders to monitor and improve river water quality.