Experts have expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of the government-proposed RM15 million fine for those found guilty of polluting waterways with scheduled waste.
They said while the sum would be a deterrent, the government should have more measures at its disposal to better complement the proposed fine.
Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia president S. Piarapakaran said there should be no absolute sum for the penalty and the figure should instead be calculated based on the environmental, economic and social impact of a pollution incident.
"It could be more or less than RM15 million, but the law should state that they would be charged the entire sum of the impact caused by the pollution," he said.
"If the Department of Environment (DoE) or other investigating authority says it is under-resourced, then we are willing to help the civil servants.
"We will help with the research and the calculations."
He said tracking scheduled waste through a registry from the moment it arrived on Malaysian shores was also a creative way of mitigating the problem.
"The entire supply chain should be tracked, especially for bulk deliveries and illegal companies buying the waste, so every bottle or consignment is scanned, recorded and stored in a database."
Piarapakaran also said as polluters resorted to such acts to reduce expenditure, the government should also look into incentivising the proper treatment of waste and pollutants.
"They can encourage the setting up of certified, licensed and qualified communal waste treatment companies by giving them pioneer status and tax breaks.
"Exemptions can also be given to companies that use such authorised entities for cleaning up."
He urged the federal government to enforce the rarely-invoked Water Services Industry Act 2006, which carries the death penalty for those whose act of contaminating a water source had led to a fatality.
The act also allowed for imprisonments of up to 20 years and whipping for those found guilty.
Section 34B of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 states that no person shall place, deposit or dispose of any scheduled wastes on land or into Malaysian waters, except at prescribed premises, without any prior written approval of the director-general of Environment.
Those guilty of violating the law are liable to a maximum fine of RM500,000 or a maximum of five years' jail, or both.
Water quality specialist Dr Zaki Zainudin said punitive laws were good, but the focus should be on prevention.
"We have to better manage the number of pollutants going into the river and the risk of pollution."
He said the risks included pollutants from upstream activities, such as residential and industrial development.
Zaki said the government needed to come up with a blueprint to address water quality with clear and measurable targets and timelines.
"The targets should be in terms of the water quality we need to achieve within a set timeline to manage the pollution load efficiently."
He said the blueprint should be gazetted and amendments to the law should be done to complement this.
"We need preventive laws that mitigate even the potential of pollution activities and upstream sources of water intakes. This is essential to achieve true water security."
Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had said the RM15 million fine was among the proposed amendments to the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
He said heavier penalties were needed, as fines provided under the act were too low.
Tuan Ibrahim said the amendments were expected to be tabled in the next Parliament sitting.