JOHOR BARU: Litterbugs beware, as the Johor Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) is about to throw the rulebook at you.
Johor SWCorp director Zainal Fitri Ahmad said that the company was carrying out random and comprehensive operations on individuals regardless of citizenship status, following the enforcement of the Community Service Order under the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672).
He said enforcement procedures for citizens and non-citizens were the same, however, there were challenges in handling cases of foreigners, such as the handling of summonses and ensuring the attendance of the person to be summoned (OKS) to court, for prosecution purposes.
"Therefore, we always work closely with the Local Authorities (PBT), the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Immigration Department (JIM) to ensure that the rule of law on cleanliness in the country is always respected by all parties.
"In addition, we also strengthen preventive measures through aggressive publicity strategies and continuous education enforcement, including high-impact awareness campaigns, strategic collaboration with local authorities and communities, as well as enforcement education in the field," he told Bernama today.
On Jan 5, five individuals, including three Singaporeans, were issued compound notices here for littering in public places.
The Community Service Order under Act 672 came into effect on Jan 1 this year as a punishment to address the issue of littering in public places and the punishment was implemented through an amendment to Act 672, which was passed by the Dewan Rakyat in August 2025 and tabled in the Dewan Negara in the same month.
Zainal Fitri said the corporation, among other things, assessed the effectiveness of the operation through an increase in the rate of immediate arrests (on the spot) in the field.
"The undercover approach is the most effective mechanism to catch offenders who tend to throw small waste openly in public places.
"This effectiveness is measured when the 'shock element' of the presence of plainclothes enforcement officers allows immediate action to be taken, thus changing the attitude of the community to not take the act lightly, " he stressed.
He said SWCorp's main target to reduce the number of littering cases in the three years is to ensure that public places are free of waste, especially small waste that can affect the country's image, in addition to the community practising a culture of cleanliness as a responsibility consistently.
"All these efforts support the aspiration of the Johor Clean City 2030 towards a Clean, Beautiful and Prosperous Malaysia," he said.
Zainal Fitri informed that 39 Notices of Offence (NPK) have been issued to individuals who were found to have committed offences openly so far, following the enforcement of Act 672.
"Following that, Permission to Prosecute was obtained from the deputy public prosecutor on Jan 7, while the registration of the case in court has been completed and is now awaiting the setting of a date for mention of the case," he said.- Bernama
