MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAND CLIMATE CHANGE

Updates on Industrial Wastewater
Management in Malaysia
JAMAL AFFENDY BIN SHAHAR
Principal Assistant Director
Water and Marine Division
Department of Environment, Malaysia
The 18th WEPA Annual Meeting
8 February 2023 Siem Reap, Cambodia

1. Overview of Industrial Wastewater as Pollution
SourcesNumber of Industrial Premises In Operation As
Recorded by Department of Environment, Malaysia

Number of Effluent-Generating Premises As Recorded byDepartment of Environment, Malaysia

70,00060,00046,61855,12440,000No.s

No.s50,000

52,393

48,99957,58430,00020,00010,0000

2017

2018

2019

• Palm oil mills• Natural rubber
processing
factories.
• 40 types ofmanufacturingindustries

2021

Year

Source: DOE 2022

DOE monitors &enforces

2020

•
•
•

Palm oil milling.
Natural rubber
processing.
Paper & paper
products.
Rubber & plastic
products.
Mining &quarrying.

6015
5897
5698
5545
5435

2017

Source: DOE 2022

VERY HIGH IMPACT
••

6100
6000
5900
5800
5700
5600
5500
5400
5300
5200
5100

2018

2019

•
•
•

Food, beverages,
tobaccoTextile, apparels,
leather
Chemicals,
chemicalproducts.
Livestockindustries.

2021

Year



HIGH IMPACT•

2020


Incompliancecauses

Degradation
ofwaterbodies’
quality.
Shutdown of water
treatment plants’operation, causingwater
supplydisturbance.
Public nuisance dueto odor pollution.
Disruptionof
aquatic ecosystem(Fish kills).

2. Regulatory framework for industrial wastewater
management
SECTION 3
Powers, duties andfunctions of Director
General and otherofficers

SECTION 16
Licensee tocomply withlicence

SECTION 18
Prescribedpremises to belicensed

SECTION 27
Prohibition ofdischarge of oil into
Malaysian watersSECTION 29
Prohibition ofdischarge of wastes
into Malaysian waters

SECTION 25
Restrictions on
pollution of inlandwaters

SECTION 21
Power to specify
conditions of emission,discharge, etc.

SECTION 49
Competent person

SECTION 31
Power to require
occupier to install,
operate, repair, etc.

SECTION 34A
Report on impact onenvironment resulting
from prescribed
activities

SECTION 34B
Prohibition against
placing, deposit, etc.,
of scheduled wastes

SECTION 38
Power to stop, board,search, etc.

2. Regulatory framework for industrial wastewater
management
Governing Law on EffluentPrescribedPremises

Non-PrescribedPremises

Palm Oil Mills

EQ(Prescribed Premises)(Crude Palm Oil) Reg. 1977

Natural Rubber
Processing

EQ(Prescribed Premises)(Raw Natural Rubber) Reg.
1978

Scheduled Waste
Disposal &Treatment Facilities

EQ(Industrial Effluent)Reg. 2009

Manufacturing
Industries

EQ(Industrial Effluent)Reg. 2009

Sewage Treatment
Plant

EQ(Sewage) Reg. 2009

Landfills

EQ(Control of Pollution From
Solid Waste Transfer Stationand Landfill) Reg. 2009

Industries Regulated By
Department of Environment,
Malaysia

Source: DOE FB3. Industrial effluent standards
PALM OIL MILLING••

Governed by Section 16 and 18, EQA 1974.
Failing to comply• Section 16• Fine not exceeding RM 25,00.00;• Imprisonment not exceeding 2 years; orboth• And fine of RM 1,000.00 per day if offence
is continued after a notice to comply has
been served.
• Section 18• Fine not exceeding RM 50,00.00;• Imprisonment not exceeding 2 years; orboth• And fine of RM 1,000.00 per day if offence
is continued after a notice to comply has
been served.

Source: EQA 1974

3. Industrial effluent standards
NATURAL RUBBER PROCESSING

Source: EQA 1974

3. Industrial effluent standards NATURAL RUBBER PROCESSING••

Governed by Section 16 and 18, EQA 1974.
Failing to comply• Section 16• Fine not exceeding RM 25,00.00;• Imprisonment not exceeding 2 years; orboth• And fine of RM 1,000.00 per day if offence
is continued after a notice to comply has
been served.
• Section 18• Fine not exceeding RM 50,00.00;• Imprisonment not exceeding 2 years; orboth• And fine of RM 1,000.00 per day if offence
is continued after a notice to comply has
been served.

Source: EQA 1974

3. Industrial effluent standards••

Standards are derived based on Section 21 and25, EQA 1974.
Failing to comply• Section 25• Fine not exceeding RM 100,00.00• Imprisonment not exceeding 5 years• EQ(IE)R 2009
• Compound RM 2,000.00 (maximum)
Source: EQA 1974

3. Industrial effluent standards
Important Points Regarding to Effluent Discharge Control
Mechanism:
1. POMs are required to pay license fee and effluent-related fee(calculated based on rate of RM 10.00/metric ton of BOD load
[watercourse] or RM 50.00/metric ton of BOD load [landapplication]) for new or renewal purposes;
2. NRPFs are required to pay license fee and effluent-related fee(calculated based on rate of RM 10.00/metric ton of BOD load
[watercourse and land application]) for new or renewal purposes;
3. Even though the discharge limits for both industries were started
with high values, but those values were gradually reduced withincertain period of time as stipulated in respective Regulations.
4. POMs and NRPFs are required to comply those values as they arestated as conditions of the license. Failing to comply thoseconditions, court action will be taken upon the offender since it is
not a compoundable offence.

3. Industrial effluent standards
Important Points Regarding to Effluent Discharge Control Mechanism:
5. DOE can set lower discharge limits for POMs and NRPFs based on request from State
Government or outcome of credible and proven environmental study. For example,POMs in the State of Sarawak have been licensed to discharge BOD at lower limit of 20
mg/l compared to 100 mg/l into the rivers since the rivers there are still being usedmainly for domestic consumption;
6. Effluent from other manufacturing industries has different set of discharge limits which
are much lower compared to the limits for POMs and NRPFs as to protect the quality of
raw water upstream of potable water intakes;
Standard Limits for (in mg/l)
Parameter

POM

NRP

BOD

100

Suspended Solid
Ammoniacal
Nitrogen

Manufacturing
Std. A

Std. B

100 (50*)20

50400400 (latex)
250 (non-latex)

50

100

150300 (latex)
40 (non-latex)

1020Comparison of Limits for Discharge From Palm Oil Mills, Natural Rubber Processing
Factories and Manufacturing Industries.

Source: EQA 1974

3. Industrial effluent standards

Discharge Limits in Malaysia for Palm Oil Mills, Natural Rubber Processing Factories andManufacturing Factories In Relative to Potable Water Intake.

4. Status of effluent monitoring/inspection
Scope of Responsibility

Frequency ofMonitoring/Reporting

Responsibility ofSampling of effluent discharge.

WeeklyCompetent Person/
Owner/Occupier

Submission of effluent discharge
monitoring records.

Monthly

Competent Person/
Owner/OccupierConducting of performancemonitoring of IETS components

As specified in theGuidance Document#

Competent Person/
Owner/Occupier

Maintaining records of themanufacturing
processes,operation, maintenance andperformance monitoring of IETSMonthly(need to be kept at
least for 3 years)

Competent Person/
Owner/Occupier

Enforcement inspection ofeffluent compliance by theindustries.

1-4 times/year

DOE Enforcement Officers#Guidance Document On Performance Monitoring of Industrial Effluent Treatment Systems issued byDOE

DOE Enforcement Activities On
Regulated Industries.
Source: DOE FB

5. Compliance with regulations for effluent
standards
Total No. ofInspection(physical &desktop)

Percentage ofcomplied
premises

Percentage ofNOT complied
premisesPalm Oil Milling*

2,496

95%

5%

Natural Rubber Processing*

438

94%

6%

Scheduled Waste Disposal &Treatment*

1,604

96%

4%

Manufacturing*

5,772

99.75%

0.25%

10,310

97.8%

2.2%

Type of Industry

TOTAL*Source: 2020 Annual Report, DOE

5. Compliance with regulations for effluent
standards
Measures for Non-complianceof Effluent Quality

Issuing legal notice to fix
problem.

Monetary penalty(fine/compound)

Court action*Source: 2020 Annual Report, DOE

Number ofcases

Legal Implication

3059

Directive Notices issued under Section
31, EQA 1974 are legally-binding.
Failing to comply within stipulated
timeframe stated in the Notice, theperson is liable to fine and/orimprisonment or both.

1314

Fines/compounds issued are based on
the numbers of parameter/standardcontravened.
Failing to pay will bring the person tocourt action.

148

Higher monetary penalty imposedcompared to fine/compound issued
and as deterrent to any incomplianceof effluent discharge.

6. Issues and challenges, future targets/plans forproper industrial wastewater management
Issues/Challenges

Future Targets/Plans/Action Taken

Existing legal actions are not Amendment to EQA 1974 to impose higher monetary penalty anddeterrent enough to industries.
imprisonment term is ready to be tabled in the Parliament.
No revision nor update of EQ(IE) Revision of the Regulations is on-going.
Reg. 2009
Significant annual increment ofImplementing the ‘Smart Enforcement’ approaches (such asindustrial premises.
aerial surveillance using drones and implementation of desktop
Limited number of enforcement enforcement) since 2020.
officers.
Intensifying the effort of promoting online report of effluent
discharge.
Taking legal action to industries for failing to have CompetentPerson.
Involuntary in behavioural change Promoting programs on cultivation of environmental
sustainability among the stakeholders especially with industrial
among the industries.
players. It has been outlined in DOE’s 2021-2030 Strategic Plan,
which was launched in 2022 which includes activities such as
CEPA programs, development of industrial compliance ranking
system and strategic partnership/collaboration.

6. Issues and challenges, future targets/plans forproper industrial wastewater management
Issues/Challenges

Future Targets/Plans/Action Taken

Involuntary in behavioural change Intensifying the implementation of Guided Self Regulation (GSR)
among the industries.
and online reporting through EMAINS (Environmental
Mainstreaming Tools System) among the industries.
Centralized/integrated system for Malaysia requires experience sharing from other countries on thewastewater management.
success of its implementation.
Concentration compliance vs. Malaysia is studying the implementation of TMDL approach as aPollution load control/governance. long-term control for water pollution. Therefore, Malaysia seeks
experience sharing from other countries.

7. Recent development in water environmental
governance
Policy measures/Update

Description

Update on Ministry responsible
for water governance.

Currently new Ministry in-charge is the Ministry of
Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change(NRECC).

Update of policy for water
environmental governance.

National Water Resources Policy 2012 is currently being
revised.

Developed strategy documents

DOE Strategic Plan 2021-2030 is completed andlaunched on 6th October 2022. The document outlines
plan on improving water quality through strengthening
enforcement effort and optimizing the usage of water
quality monitoring data.
Studies on Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) for
selected river basins in Malaysia are on-going which
later will be served as guideline for stakeholders inmanaging rivers.

Reference
1. DOE (2022). Enforcement Data, Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources,Environment and Climate Change, Malaysia.
2. Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127), Regulations, Rules & Orders, 1st March 2016 Edition,
International Law Book Services.
3. DOE (2020). Department of Environment 2020 Annual Report: Chapter 4. Department ofEnvironment, Ministry of Environment and Water, Malaysia. Retrieved on December 27, 2022
fromhttps://enviro2.doe.gov.my/ekmc/digital-content/laporan-tahunan-jabatan-alam-sekitar2020/
4. DOE (2017). Guidance Document On Performance Monitoring of Industrial Effluent Treatment
Systems Specified in Regulation 9(A), Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations
2009, Malaysia. Retrieved on January 20, 2023, from https://enviro2.doe.gov.my/ekmc/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/GUIDANCE-DOCUMENT-ON-PERFORMANCE-MONITORING-OFINDUSTRIAL-EFFLUENT-TREATMENT-SYSTEMS.pdf5. DOE (2022). Pelan Strategik Jabatan Alam Sekitar 2021-2023. Department of Environment,
Ministry of Environment and Water, Malaysia. Retrieved on January 20, 2023, fromhttps://enviro2.doe.gov.my/ekmc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Pelan-Strategik-JAS-20212030_Hebahan.pdf
6. Sharifuddin, S.S., Ang, S.Y. (2017). Current Situation and Issues of Industrial Wastewater
Management In Malaysia, 13th WEPA Annual Meeting and WEPA International Workshop onIndustrial Wastewater Management, 26-27 September 2107, Jakarta, Indonesia.