Minister: EIA law amendment will see harsher penalties

 

The government is amending legislation surrounding Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) implementation.

Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the proposed amendment will see harsher penalties for offences.

“The existing penalty for offences involving EIA activities under Section 34A(8) (of the Environmental Quality Act 1974) is a fine of RM500,000, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, and an additional fine of RM1,000.

“In the new amendment, the penalty that will be imposed is imprisonment of not more than five years and a fine of not less than RM100,000, and not exceeding RM1 million,” he said to Malaysiakini.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE), EIAs identify and communicate information about the impacts, both beneficial and adverse, on the environment of a proposed development activity, before project approval and implementation.

EIAs are currently regulated and enforced by the federal government under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

Nik Nazmi announced last month, in an interview with Malaysiakini, that the DOE was reviewing EIA implementation.

Due to loopholes, EIAs may be just symbolic and not reflective of realities on the ground.

One highly raised loophole is how developers avoid having to publicly disclose EIA reports by dividing a major project into medium-sized projects.

Among the other challenges faced by the ministry is the impartiality of EIA consultants producing the reports. - Mkini