Radio New Zealand (RNZ) revealed that Malaysia has become a plastic waste dumping ground for New Zealand and Australia. This revelation comes about 2 months after newspaper reports on the serious pollution in Kuala Langat, Selangor, purportedly caused by factories involved in processing plastic waste. As a result of the news report, Malaysia suspended the Approved Permit (AP) on importation of HS 3915 plastic on July 23, but lifted on Aug 13.
The report also cast much suspicion on the enforcement process. RNZ reports that almost all illegal factories were closed on days when Department of Environment (DoE) was inspecting.
It is also not a secret that many of these illegal factories which are from Chinese owned and operating without permits, are also using Malaysian landfills to illegally dump toxic plastic waste.
Enforcement, however, is lacking, if not absent.
I, therefore, call for:
- Illegal factories must be shut down, and remained closed. It is ridiculous that a factory which is closed down can open for operations an hour later. DoE and local council must ensure that the closure is strictly followed.
- Enforcement officers who have been compromised are to be disciplined. It is too much of a coincidence that the illegal factories are closed when DoE conducts their raids.
- The 114 recycling companies and factories nationwide which have import APs have to be constantly monitored, audited and report to a Parliamentary Select Committee on Environmental Issues.
- Importation of HS391 plastic must be regulated. Customs have to be investigated how so much illegal waste entered our country.
Our local environment and the health of our people are in danger. We cannot continue to allow this to happen. The damage that it causes is almost impossible to reverse.