By Cecelia Alphonsus
10 July 2018, Kuala Lumpur
“The Government should take the lead in developing and funding a sustainable waste management framework for the country,” says Ramli Mohamed Tahir, Managing Director of KDEB Waste Management company. He was a panelist at the 2018 National Waste Management Conference “Towards Sustainable Waste Management” earlier today.
Speaking to the press after the event, Ramli added that as taxpayers we would look towards the government to provide the proper infrastructure and necessary equipment to enable citizens to practice sustainable waste disposal.
“The Government holds the funds through tax collection, compounds, royalties, duties, levies and so on. These should be consolidated and channeled to the right ministries to build the infrastructure that is needed, provide enough communal bins and proper state-of-the-art lorries. If you pay operators the right rates, they will provide the frequency that is needed for waste collection and recycling services,” said Ramli.
Executive Chairman of Waste Management Systems Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Mizan Yahya says that Malaysia is still in a state of transition. “While we aspire for a circular economy in sustainable waste management, the focus on planning is still very much driven by the linear economy.”
He adds that the concept of a circular economy has to be translated into policy and regulation stressing that collaborative platforms are needed to address the joint responsibility that is required for this transition.
Studies have shown that Malaysians produce an average of 30,000 tons of waste daily and only 5 percent of it is recycled. It has become a major challenge in the country to manage the disposal of millions of tonnes of untreated garbage by the municipal bodies. This poses serious health issues and untold environmental degradation if steps are not taken to enforce policies and regulations.
The conference was organized by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) and the keynote address was delivered by Secretary General of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad bin Mentek.
