• REASSURING: Wong(left) speaks at a press conference. Others (from second left) are Mohd Ismail, Tiong, and Ngieng.

Person-in-charge of the feedmill Peter Wong told a press conference yesterday that the company was in the process of installing a new system called the scrubble system which will reduce the level of odour significantly.

He said the company spent more than RM300,000 to bring in this system which incorporated the technique of Taiwan and the US.

The press conference was called in response to recent complaints that the area around the feedmill was smelly.

Present at the press conference were Sibu Municipal Council chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King, deputy chairman Daniel Ngieng, secretary Wong Fu Toh, assistant secretary Hii Chang Kee and acting Resident Mohd Ismail Hanis.

Peter said the Sibu Feedmill Sdn Bhd was incepted in 1978 and sited in an industrial area.

At the very outset of its operation, the workers’ quarters were built next to the factory, but were later dismantled to give way to residential houses, he recalled.

He said more houses mushroomed in the area from the late 1980s.

Peter said Sibu Feedmill was approved by the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and it had always complied to the rules and regulations stipulated in the licence conditions.

“And we’ve continually taken up new measures to ensure our operation is not detrimental to the cleanliness of the environment,” he added.

Among some of the measures he mentioned were curtailing production to reduce the emanation of bad odour when the situation called for it; providing fishermen (fish suppliers) with quality ice cubes to ensure freshness of their catch; employing odour reduction system which evidently has reduced pollution by 70 per cent; and increase the frequency of fish and prawn supply by using their own vessels.

For this, he said the feedmill was able to increase the supply of fish from once in 14 days to once in five days.

He pointed out that the feedmill was able to improve the handling of waste water significantly since year 2006 when the company spent RM700,000 to adopt an efficient system.

Appealing to neighbours to bear with the current situation a little longer, Peter reassured that the scrubble system which is being installed and ready by May, would definitely improve the situation.