Sarawak completes first phase of environmental autonomy transfer under MA63
KUCHING: The first phase of transferring environmental autonomy from the federal government to the state government under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) has been completed.
Deputy Premier Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the first phase involves the management of scheduled wastes.
"The aspects of industrial effluent management, air quality control, and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) management will be taken over in the next phase," said Awang Tengah, who is also the state Urban Development and Natural Resources Minister, during his winding-up speech at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly today.
He added that the state government is currently drafting new regulations to strengthen enforcement of the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance 2024, which was passed during the last Sarawak State Legislative Assembly session.
Meanwhile, the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) has adopted a new organisational structure starting from July 1 last year and has conducted 32 joint enforcement operations with the state Department of Environment.
He also said that NREB has completed the development of the Scheduled Waste Management Module within the Sarawak Environmental Information System (EnvISS), which serves as a monitoring and data management platform for scheduled waste.
Guidelines and work manuals for Scheduled Waste Premises and Scheduled Carrier licences have also been provided.
"NREB has further enhanced the competence of its officers through courses such as the Certified Environmental Professional in Scheduled Waste Management (CePSWaM), Certified Person in Scheduled Waste Sampling Protocol (CePSWaSP), scheduled waste management, and oil spill handling," he said.
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