Parliament passes Bill granting Sabah, Sarawak powers to manage scheduled waste

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Bill 2026, which, among others, enables Sabah and Sarawak to be granted legislative authority in the management of scheduled waste.

The Bill was passed by a majority voice vote after it was tabled for the second and third readings by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup.

He said the Bill was a strategic step by the government to strengthen the country’s environmental legal framework in line with the principles of federalism, good governance and the commitment to implementing the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“The amendment is part of the government’s continuous efforts to ensure the country’s environmental management system remains responsive, flexible and resilient in addressing current challenges,” he said when winding up the debate on the bill.

On the need for an online system for continuous environmental monitoring reporting, as well as the management of scheduled waste, he said Sarawak had developed the Scheduled Waste Management System under the Environmental Information System Sarawak (EnvISS) platform on Jan 22, 2025.

“Several series of system training sessions have been organised for all relevant officers and industry representatives to provide exposure and preparation,” he said.

For Sabah, Arthur said the Sabah Electronic Scheduled Waste Information System was now 90 per cent ready.

“This system will replace the eSWIS system used by the Sabah Department of Environment to monitor the movement of scheduled waste in Sabah and is expected to go live fully in November 2026,” he said.

The eighth amendment to the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) aims to amend Section 1 of the Act by inserting a new subsection (3) to empower the Minister to suspend the enforcement of the whole or any provision of the Act in different parts of Malaysia.

Earlier, 21 MPs from both the government and opposition blocs took part in the debate on the Bill.

Among them was Vivian Wong Shir Yee (PH-Sandakan), who described the amendment to grant powers to the Minister as having the potential to expedite enforcement action and monitoring.

Siti Aminah Aching (BN-Beaufort) said the amendment to Act 127 reflected the maturity of federalism, taking into account the diversity of realities in Sabah and Sarawak in terms of geography and development challenges.

Riduan Rubin (Independent-Tenom), who also supported the Bill, however, stressed the importance of ensuring that state institutional readiness was at an optimum level to support the effective implementation of autonomous powers.

“If the suspension is implemented without sufficient technical staffing, complete forensic laboratory facilities, an integrated monitoring system and clear transition funding, the risk of weak enforcement is real,” he said.

The sitting continues tomorrow. – Bernama