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air and water quality monitoring programme, baseline studies and source emission inventory
surveys which are being currently undertaken by the Environrnent Division of lhe Ministry of
Science, Technoloqy and Environmenl. These activities are geared to provide not only Lhe
fundamental inputs for development planning, but also are expected Lo be useful in
themselves for the formulation of the pollution control proqramme. The data on standards of
environmental quality which are being generated by these activities will provide feedback
informat,ion in environmental nranagement to help influence the future course of development.
Exiating envirdrrnental control
Environmental problems are not solved by remedial measures alone but also by a
combination of proper environmental planning and pollution control, integratinq both
preventive and restorative measures.
Logicelly iL would be sensible to work out a proper environmenLal plan to be carried
out within the generalrplanning' framework before any pollution control work is camied out.
However, in the Malaysian context, due to the necessary gestat,ion period required to evolve
a sound plan (data collection, resources, trained manpower, ete.) and the urgency of
anti-pollution measures a simultaneous approach is not only desirable but also inescapable,
Therefore, pollution conLrol has been the central activity in the Environrnent Division's
programme for environmental conservation and enhancement of environmental quality.
Irrporient as these measures are for controlling existing and future environmental problems,
they must be planned and designed within Lhe framework of the growth targets of lhe
development plan, and take due account of administrative pnocedures at both the Federal and
State levels.
In the final analysis, these control measures must be consistent and workable within the
framework of lhe Federal Constitution, insofar as it concerns the relat,ionship between the
Federal Government and the States. With this constitutional framework, the Environment
Division is adopting a two-pronged approach involving both statutory control and
non-statutory control.
The ctoice of these control measures and their application depends significantly on the
areas !o be controlled. Statutory control is adopted in areas which are expressly within the
ambit of the Environmental Guality Act, J.974 or more precisely in those matters which are
specified in the Federal or Concunrent Lists. Non-staLutory conlrol, on the other hand, is
applied in areas where the existing responsibilities are shared by various government agencies
end in those areas which are within the competence of the State Governments. Matters zuch
as land' agriculture, forestry, mining, soil erosion, drainage and irrigation which are
f undamentally important in envinonmental management are expliciLly under the State and
Concurrent Lists, and it is in [hese areas that non-statutory control must be directed with
great csre to avoid undue administrative conflicts.
The legal controls are being applied through various Regulations which have been
drawn up on the advice of the Environmental Gluality Council in aceordance with bhe
Environmental Ouality Act, 1974. They are, among others:
(i) Environmental Ouality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations, L97-Ii
(ii) Environmental Guality (Prescribed Premises) (Raw Natural Rubber) Regulations, L978i
(iii) Sewage and Industrial Effluents Regulations, 1979;
(iv) The Clean Air Regulations, 1978.
These Regulations are directed principally against industrial pollution in the form of
dischanges and emissions which damage our common property resources, namely land, air and
water. However, they are by no nreans the compleLe answer in themselves. For example they
will not be able to deal with those problems arising from the development of land and natural
resources which are as serious as pollution from industrial sources. Nevertheless, these
Regulations constitute positive steps towards the conirol of pollution from point eources.