Aluminium smelting plant in Balingian

environmental friendly: CEO

MUKAH: With the Balingian by-election set for March 29, some quarters appear to fuel their own political mileage by targeting the Press Metal Sarawak smelting plant as polluting areas in the vicinity.

However, the aluminium smelting plant's chief executive officer, Datuk Paul Koon Poh Keong, said misinformation led such quarters to think the plant polluted the areas.

He said Press Metal Sarawak abided strictly by the country's laws and stringent international standards in protecting the environment.

"Our plant is even online with the Department of Environment which allows it to directly monitor our emission. We cannot run (away) or hide (from this).

"In addition, every three months, a team of auditors check our level of compliance," he told a media conference at his office here today, when announcing activities for its fifth anniversary celebration.

Kook said the plant had no solid or liquid discharge but only emission into the atmosphere.

He said the Mukah and Bintulu plants generated about US$1 billion in foreign exchange for the country annually. - BERNAMA