Sungai Pinang
River under rehabiliation, Penang

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Sungai Pinang is a river on Penang island. It flows east into the south channel. For many years, Sungai Pinang is regarded as the filthiest river in Malaysia. It remains in the dubiest Class V category, which means it is a dead river unable to sustain any life form.

Sampans reflected on Sungai Pinang, with high rises in the background.

The good news for Sungai Pinang is that after a long wait, the state government of Penang began rehabilitating the river. The first phase of the RM25 million Sungai Pinang Beautification Project involves desilting works and placing traps to filter out garbage that flows through the river. At the same time, a new jetty is being built for fishermen and tourists.

The second phase of the Sungai Pinang Beautification involves improving the water quality from Class V to Class II, which would render it clean enough for bathing. This is still a long way to go, as of today, the river still carry a heavy stench from all the pollutants that have been dumped into it for so many decades.

I am keeping a close watch on the development of Sungai Pinang. The photographs you see on this page were taken before any rehabilitation was carried out. At that time, the water was still as black as Indian ink. When I see an improvement, I will document it here for your information.