KUALA LUMPUR: The government is exploring the possibility of introducing a law to compel those who pollute to pay for the cleanup operations and other damage that they cause.
Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the law would be part of the proposed amendment to the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
She said instead of focusing only on individuals who had commit the crime, the new law would also look into punishing companies that failed to monitor their scheduled waste disposal.
“Polluters must pay for the mess, but what if the culprits are lorry drivers?” she said.
“How do we force them to pay millions in damages?
“They would be declared bankrupt and the government would still have to pay for the mess.
“What we want to do in the new law is make the companies who don’t monitor their waste pay for it,” she told a press conference after attending the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Research Bhd Green Conference.
Yeo said last year the government only booked 159 cases with a total of RM2.5 million in fines issued.
Asked when the new law would be introduced, Yeo said her ministry was working on the matter and was in close contact with Attorney-General Tommy Thomas.
“Review of the law will take some time. What happened in Pasir Gudang will surely help to speed up the tabling of that law in Parliament,” she said.
The Johor state government has so far spent RM6.4 million on the cleanup and on financial aid to victims affected by toxic fumes from the chemical waste dumped into Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang.
Yeo said it was estimated that the Sungai Kim Kim cleanup would cost more than RM10 million.
“The pollution cleaning service alone cost RM6.4 million for the 1.5km polluted stretch of Sungai Kim Kim.
“The pollution has been going on for years. This was established after the discovery of blackish residue in the river basin,” she said.
The pollution in Sungai Kim Kim has affected more than 6,000 people and led to the closure of 111 schools.
Yeo said checks by the Department of Environment had found that the 46 dump sites in Pasir Gudang detected using satellite data were not sources of toxic poisoning.
“Nevertheless, the ministry has issued a notice to the state government and local council for them to clean up the dump sites immediately,” she said.