PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: The rare freshwater fish kelah is getting a new lease of life in the clean lake and river at the government's administrative centre.

Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman said 57m of Sungai Chua - the main river that feeds into the city's lake and wetlands area - would be used to breed kelah, which is facing extinction in the wild.

"The fish will be bred and released into the river three months later. At present, we have kelah in our lake.

"We hope to turn the fish into a tourist attraction as they gather in large groups if one takes to feeding them frequently, much like what happened in Taman Negara.

"Because the kelah is a popular game fish, we have designated all directors in the corporation as enforcement officers for certain areas. For instance, I am in charge of the area around the Core Island in Precinct 1.

"This is to ensure that no intruders will come here and catch them in nets or worse, put poison in the river," he told reporters at the launch of the programme at Sungai Chua.

Samsuddin, who is also a fishing enthusiast, said corporation staff members had gone to a kelah breeding centre at Sungai Pentuang in Terengganu.

"Although there are a lot of development activities upriver of Sungai Chua, which caused the river to be dirty and muddy, the wetlands area in Putrajaya have managed to filter out this silt so that in certain places, the water quality is Grade One and at worst, Grade Two."

Putrajaya MP Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor released 150 kelah in cages strung up along the river. They will be released three months later.

Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) director-general Datuk Ahmad Husaini Sulaiman said the fish was facing extinction in the wild.

"This species is very sensitive towards changes in the quality of water and the environment.

"Sungai Chua in Putrajaya was chosen for this programme to breed kelah because of its water quality, the steady spillway from the Putrajaya lake, the shape of the river and the pH and water temperature," he said.

The department chose the Tor Tombroides breed for the programme, which is yellow, red and gold in colour.