KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will raise the issue of plastics pollution plaguing the world when it hosts the Asean Summit 2025, says Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (pic).
The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister said the proposal to address the issue had been expressed to Asean deputy secretary-general (socio-cultural community) Ekkaphab Phanthavong in a meeting Monday (July 15).
"We have voiced, among other proposals, the cross-border haze, which is always a focus of environmental issues in Asean.
"We want to look at the issue of plastics pollution because this is not just a problem that plagues Malaysia," he said at a press conference after inaugurating the National Drone Symposium 2024 here on Tuesday (July 16).
"If you look... Indonesia, the Philippines, and other countries are also facing the problem of plastics pollution."
Nik Nazmi also stated that tackling plastics pollution requires the cooperation of all Asean countries.
"We know that if we move as one nation, we may be too small to get attention, but if we move as an Asean region with 670 million people, then we will get the attention of the world community. We are working hard to find a comprehensive solution," he added.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) was conducting research related to the presence of new pollutants on water quality in several river basins in Malaysia under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
Fadillah, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, noted that the contaminants include endocrine disruptors (EDCs), antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and microplastics.
"The WHO (World Health Organisation) defines microplastics as plastic fragments less than 5mm in size that enter the river system through various pathways, mainly surface water runoff, wastewater effluents (both treated and untreated), industrial effluents, and decomposed plastic waste."
Previously, Nik Nazmi mentioned that the government is considering the introduction of specific laws to deal with plastics dumping and pollution, which remains a major issue in Malaysia. - Bernama
