APRIL 1 — As an environmental law practitioner in Malaysia, I laud the positive statements made recently by the Malaysian Government on having a re-look at the environmental laws in Malaysia as currently legislated.
make polluters pay for clean-ups and damages to the environment that arise as a result of the pollution.The concept of polluter pays principle is not new, and has been conceived as one of the fundamental principles governing modern environmental law and policy, behind most of the regulations imposed on potential polluters affecting land, water and air. It is usually used as a liability and compensation mechanism.
Various issues ought to be considered properly including chain of responsibility particularly whether the parent company could be liable to pollution caused by subsidiary companies, as well as the impact of such orders on companies that ultimately go bust. In the latter case, the inter-play with insolvency laws have to be structured well in order to optimise the effectiveness of the law. In respect of the former, reach of the Ministry’s powers would have to be clarified.