Other Malaysia Laws affiliated to the Environmental Management vis-à-vis
ISO14001
ISO 14001 Clause 4.3.2 requires us to
identify and address any legal requirements or other requirements that our
organization subscribes to or ‘susceptible to’ based on the environmental
aspects that we have identified. In Malaysia, the Environmental Quality Act, 1974
is the only law meant for environmental control. However, since the definition
of environmental aspects leads to an infinite spectrum of the entire living earth; where we have our activities, thus, interacting rapaciously with the earth's medium; other laws seems to emerge as affiliates in the legal perspective in practice.
1) FACTORIES
AND MACHINERY ACT, 1967
¨
An
Act – control of factories;
¨
Matters
relating to safety, health and welfare of persons
¨
Registration
and inspection of machinery
¨
Rationale:
failure to conform to safety requirements such as safety procedures and safety
specifications for most instrumentation in most cases has led to significant
impact on human and at the same time the environment;
¨
Applicable
clauses;
à
Section 2(1) on the definition of
‘factory’
à
Section
3, paragraph 14; on the definition of ‘fume’ and First Schedule on Dangerous Occurrence;
à
Section 3, paragraph 26, on the
definition of ‘nuisance’; which means any act, omission or thing occasioning or
likely to occasion injury, annoyance, offence, harm, danger, or damage to the
sense of sight, smell or hearing, or which is or is likely to be injurious or
dangerous to health or property;
à
Section 11, persons exposed to
explosive, inflammable etc., substances;
à
Section 13, provisions against fire;
à
Section 22(1), c (I): provision requiring
adequate ventilation in process area that generates air impurities;
à
Section 24, provision for personal
protective clothing and appliances;
à
Section 31, accidents and dangerous
occurrence to be reported;
à
Section 56 (1) (C), The minister may make
regulations to prescribed the standard means of removal on injurious or
offensive fumes or dust arising from certain processes in factories, or class
or description of factory and special measures to be taken to ensure the health
of persons employed therein. Subsidiary regulation: Factory and Machinery
(Compoundable Offences) Regulations, 1978
2) OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT, 1994
As far as factors that
contribute to the quality of the environment, this legislation focuses on
‘environmental quality’ in the workplace in terms of safety procedures i.e.
matters concerning hazards from the use of installation, etc., substances and
emissions of air impurities within the factory building or premises. This law
specifies the roles and responsibilities of both the employer and employee in
ensuring compliance to safety and health procedures and codes of practices.
Some important regulations as far as the relationship of safety and environment
is concerned are its subsidiary regulations as follows;
·
Occupational,
Safety, and Health (Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards) Regulations,
1996; that requires the Safety ERP;
·
Occupational,
Safety, and Health (Classification, Packaging and Labeling of Hazardous
Chemicals) Regulations 1997;
·
Occupational,
Safety, and Health (Use and Standards Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to
Health) Regulations, 2000.
The
author decided not to comment on these regulations as it is a specialized
function and responsibility of Health-Safety experts and already a common
knowledge to all concerned parties.
3) LOCAL
GOVERNMENT ACT, 1976
This act is for the purpose
of ensuring uniformity of law and policy to make a law with respect to local
government and applied only to the Peninsula Malaysia.
Definitions under this law
which are significant in environmental management appear as follows;
‘land’ includes things attached
to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
‘nuisance’ means any act, omission or
thing occasioning or likely to occasion injury, annoyance, offence, harm,
danger, or damage to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or which is or likely
to be injurious or dangerous to health or property or which affects the safety
or the rights of the inhabitant at large.
‘sewage’ has the same meaning
assigned to it under the Sewerage Services Act, 1993;
‘state
authority’
means;
¨
In
relation to the sates of West Malaysia , the
Ruler-in-Council or Governor-in-Council of a state and includes in Negeri
Sembilan the Yang di-Pertuan Besar acting on behalf of himself and the Ruling
Chiefs; and
¨
In
relation to the Federal
Territory
Provisions under this law
that is considerable in environmental management is as follows;
·
Section 69 – commiting nuisance
instreams, etc. ‘Any person who commits a nuisance or deposits any filth in or
upon the banks of any stream, canal, public drain or other water-course within
the local authority area…’ The legal liability is RM2000 and a maximum of 1
year imprisonment.
·
Section 70 – Pollution of streams
with trade refuse, etc.
o
‘puts
or causes to be put or to flow or knowingly permits to be put or fall or to
flow or to be carried into any stream, so as either singly or in combination
with other acts of the same or any other person to interfere with its due flow
or to pollute its waters, the solid or liquid refuse of any manufactory,
manufacturing process or quarry or any rubbish or cinders or any other waste or
any putrid matter’.
o
As
above, but, to include ‘liquid sewage matter’
o
Legal
liability for this offence is RM5000 or 2 years imprisonment
·
Section 86; the Local Authority may
make regulations pertaining to burning of forest, flammable materials and the
management of flammable materisla.
·
Section 105 – Power to demand for
monetary deposits from applicants for permits (bond).
o
4) STREET,
DRAINAGE AND BUILDING ACT, 1974
An Act desired to introduce
in the form of an Act of Parliament a uniform system with respect to the
street, drainage and building in local authority areas in West
Malaysia .
Definition relevant to
environmental management;
‘nuisance’ means any act, omission or
thing occasioning or likely to occasion injury, annoyance, offense, harm,
danger or damage to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or which is or is
likely to be injurious to dangerous to health or property of which affects the
safety or the rights of the inhabitants at large.
‘sewer’ has the same meaning
assigned to it under the Sewerage Services Act, 1993
‘Sewerage
System’
has the same meaning assigned to it under the Sewerage Services Act, 1993
‘sullage’ includes any household
waste liquids discharged from any bath, shower, lavatory, basin, floor gully,
laundries or sink (not being a slop sink) but excludes faecal water and urine.
Provisions of this law that
are considerable in environmental management;
¨
Section 37; prevention of grass fires;
¨
Section 38; trees not to be planted
within twelve feet of street;
¨
Section 47; depositing dirt on
streets, etc;
¨
Section 50; local authority to construct
and maintain drains and watercourses;
¨
Section 51; local authority may
recover costs of improving and making drains;
¨
Section 52; prohibition against
building unless provision made for drains, etc., and compliance with any notice
or order;
¨
Section 53; local authority to repair
or alter and may discontinue surface and storm-water drains, etc.
¨
Section 54; cleansing and emptying
surface and storm-water drains, etc.;
¨
Section 55; penalty for making
unauthorized drains into canal or stream;
¨
Section 56; rainwater pipes not to be
used as soil pipes;
¨
Section 57; water pipes, etc., not to
be used as ventilating shaft;
¨
Section 59; local authority may
require removal or alteration of urinals;
¨
Section 61; ventilating pipes to
sewers.
Another new law as at the
time of posting that is related is The
Solid Waste and General Cleansing Act, 2007. Please check it out!
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