Malaysia Seeks to Align Its Legal Framework for Chemical Laws with International Standards
Malaysia has published the Twelfth Malaysia Plan, 2021-2025 in which the government presents its plans for organizing and coordinating chemical management. The stated goals are to organize and combine the responsibilities of the authorities and align the regulations with international standards like the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants.
According to the Malaysia Plan, new regulations will be introduced, and existing laws will be revised. The latter includes Pesticides Act 1974, a law administered by the Pesticide Board; Act 127, administered by the Environmental Ministry; the OSHA regulations of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, DOSH; and the Poison Act, administered by the Ministry of Health, MoH.
One aspect of the plan calls for more vigorous inspection and implementation of notification and reporting requirements for the manufacture, import, export, and use of chemicals at the level of government agencies. The plans include:
- Prohibiting the import and export of specific products containing mercury and the use of mercury and mercury compounds in manufacturing processes
- Forbidding the use of environmentally hazardous pesticides and poisonous chemicals
- Accelerating elimination of the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC)
- Monitoring the movement of hazardous chemicals and their waste
- Establishing a task force to monitor the management of hazardous chemicals from production to disposal
The document does not specify which measures will be implemented when. Only a general timeline is given: 2021 to 2025.
Please note that safety data sheets (SDSs) and labels must be created in English and Malaysian (the official national language is Bahasa Malaysia). SDSs must be updated regularly.
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