While the Movement Control Order (MCO) is not convenient for a lot of people, it certainly is a blessing for the environment.

Thanks to the limited movement of humans, the rivers are clearing up and the mountains are more visible now.

In fact, one of the dirtiest rivers in the country is not dirty any more.

Nature is healing itself

The Star Online recently published several photographs of Sungai Pinang captured from a drone, revealing the wondrous effect the MCO has on the river.

The photographs were taken seven weeks apart, and the results were stunning: the colour of the once-polluted river is now jade green.

The news portal said that pre-MCO, the 3.5km long river was black in colour, no thanks to pollution.

In fact, Sungai Pinang’s water quality at the time was categorised under Class Four, just one step below the 'dead river category' of Class Five.

But now, thanks to the MCO, the river is now a healthy jade green because of algae, a clear sign that nature is healing itself.

Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng from Universiti Sains Malaysia told The Star Online that the foul pollution was due to all kinds of oil from workshops and factories, as well as wastewater from markets and hakwer centers.

“With the MCO, the dumping has stopped. You can see now how a river cleans itself if the pollution load is low. It is we humans who overload the rivers.

“We must either relocate polluting sources elsewhere or ensure they treat their waste before discharging them into the environment, ” he was quoted as saying.

Prof Chan also revealed that before this, whenever he approached the authorities on cleaning up the river efforts, he was told that “Sungai Pinang is dead and cannot be revived”.

“These photos are the game-changer. It proves that Sungai Pinang can be beautiful and have a nice waterfront,” he further added.

Human pollution is indeed destroying the nature. Let’s hope the authorities find a way to stop river pollution once the MCO ends!