By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, Feb 29 — State executive councillor for local government Dato’ Ng Suee Lim said a new policy to encourage illegal factory operators in the state to register their premises will be drafted by the first quarter of the year.
One of the problems faced by the state government is the large number of unauthorised factories operating in Selangor, which have refused registration.
The Sekinchan state assemblyman said this remains the case despite efforts by the state administration to get illegal factory owners to register their businesses, including assisting them by providing minimum requirements for the registration.
“Many factory operators view this issue lightly and assume the state government will not take strict actions against them,” he told the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting today.
Ng was responding to Sementa state assemblyman Noor Najhan Mohd Salleh on the details of the illegal factories operating in Sementa, and the state government’s efforts to solve this issue.
According to Ng, there are 70 factories with planning permission permits (kebenaran merancang, or KM) in Sementa, while 347 are in the legalisation process, comprising 184 in Category A (within the zone) and 163 in Category B (outside the zone).
Additionally, 277 illegal factories in the state constituency have not applied for registration.
“To ensure all factories comply with the conditions, an integrated enforcement action has been conducted alongside other agencies, including the Klang District and Land Office, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd, involving electricity and water supply cuts.
“Additionally, implementing the minimum technical requirements for the factories listed in the Legalisation of Illegal Factories Programme (KTK) would assist the operators with the necessary technical standards,” he said.
On November 6 last year, Ng said the state government would implement strict enforcement against those who violate and refuse to comply with the law, including demolishing and confiscating land per Section 129 (5) (b) of the National Land Code 1965.
He added that 7,221 factories have been operating without permission throughout Selangor since 2006, and only 7 per cent have been successfully registered so far.
