(Johor Bahru) SWCorp Malaysia, an agency under Malaysia’s Ministry of Housing and Local Government, has revealed that another 10 lorries are suspected of illegally transporting construction waste from Singapore to Rimba Terjun in Pontian, Johor, for burial.
In a statement posted on Facebook last Friday (13 November), Johor SWCorp Malaysia said investigations following public complaints found that 10 lorries from different companies were involved in transporting waste to Rimba Terjun for burial. Its director, Zainal Fitri, then led a team to inspect the site.
The statement said checks with the Customs Department found that eight of the lorries had entered Johor from Singapore carrying stone waste. These lorries belonged to four companies. The authorities have sent details of all the lorries involved to the Road Transport Department for verification.
The statement said the case was being investigated under provisions on the illegal dumping of solid waste in the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007. Those charged and convicted face a fine of RM10,000 to RM100,000 (about S$3,100 to S$31,000), a jail term of six months to five years, or both.
The statement stressed that all construction waste is subject to solid waste management regulations and must be disposed of at designated sites.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) had previously confirmed that it had not issued any permits for the export of construction waste to Malaysia.
Malaysian media reported in August this year that several Malaysian companies had, over the previous two years, illegally transported and dumped large quantities of construction waste in several villages in Pontian. The waste was suspected to have come from the demolition of old HDB blocks in Singapore.
The Johor government subsequently set up a task force comprising Malaysia’s Department of Environment, the Pontian district administration, the police and SWCorp to investigate the matter thoroughly. It found that the lorries involved had entered Johor via the Second Link.
Johor executive councillor for housing and local government Mohd Jafni said on 12 August that investigators had gathered sufficient evidence linking nine Malaysian companies to the illegal dumping and were preparing to take further action.
In response to queries from Lianhe Zaobao on 18 August, NEA said Singapore does not allow construction and demolition waste to be exported for disposal. It had yet to establish whether Singapore companies were involved in transporting the waste, but had issued a circular to licensed general waste disposal facilities in Singapore, reminding operators to comply strictly with the relevant regulations.
NEA stressed that any illegal dumping of waste pollutes the environment and poses a threat to public health. It said it takes the matter very seriously and would continue to work closely with the Malaysian authorities on the investigation.
