KUALA LUMPUR – The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Ministry is considering empowering police under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 to boost efforts in combating environmental crimes.
Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said other proposals include placing environmental crimes under the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 and the Prevention of Crime Act 1959, Bernama reported.
He said these proposed measures would grant authorities “stronger enforcement powers” to take action against offenders.
“We also want to blacklist companies that frequently violate the law, establish specific legislation for waste import management, amend the Port Act and Free Zone Regulations to take action against shipping agents making false declarations, and ban waste imports from countries that have not ratified the Basel Convention.
“These actions align with our principle of prioritising domestic waste management, as we do not want to become the world’s dumping ground. For the record, between 2015 and 2023, Malaysia generated 764,453 tonnes of e-waste (electrical and electronic waste),” he said during Ministerial Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Nik Nazmi was responding to a question from Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (PN-Setiu), who sought clarification on NRES’s strict measures to curb e-waste smuggling into the country following large-scale raids on illegal electronic waste processing factories in several states recently.
He said the raids involved inspections at 47 premises, leading to the seizure of 15,764 tonnes of e-waste, estimated to be worth RM55 million.
Nik Nazmi also highlighted challenges faced by enforcement officers dealing with e-waste-related operations.
“Some of our officers received video calls from syndicate bosses showing videos of their children at school (as a form of intimidation). This shows how serious the e-waste issue is in Malaysia,” he said.
He also revealed that, in collaboration with enforcement agencies including the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, NRES prevented 329 containers from entering the country last year, while 15 containers have been stopped as of February this year. – March 6, 2025