No to waste from China

JOHOR BARU: Johor has rejected investment deals from two Chinese companies to build waste recycling centres in the state, said state international trade, investment and utilities committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse.

He said the Johor government did not want to see the state become a waste disposal centre for other countries, and would never accept such investments.

“Earlier in June, I announced that the state government had rejected investments from three companies from China. Last week I rejected two more investments from the same country.

“The same move has been taken by the Kedah and Selangor governments. I hope investors in this industry get the message that Johor will not allow the state to become a waste disposal centre,” he said after attending Johor Corporation investor networking session held in conjunction with its 50th anniversary at Persada International Convention here.

Jimmy Puah

Puah said the government, through the Johor Department of Environment (DoE), would also conduct raids on a number of companies believed to be masquerading as green technology firms.

“Recently, I had discussions with the Johor DoE director on raids on companies that import green technology materials.

“I know there are some companies in the state which forge their import invoices to bring in plastic waste. We will hunt them down and impose the maximum penalty allowed for under the law on them,” he said.

Puah said currently over 100 million tonnes of garbage was waiting to be exported from major ports in China.

“I urge the public to inform the state government or the DoE if they have any information related to this kind of activity. This is very serious because when the waste arrives here, it will take a long time for it to be biodegradeable.

“Electrical and electronic waste products that have harmful chemicals can also pollute our water resources,” he added.