KUALA LUMPUR: For Budget 2025, the government is looking into letting the Department of Environment (DoE) retain some of the fines that it collects to improve its resources and strengthen its operations, said Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
He said that currently all fines collected go into the government’s consolidated account.
“But if part of it could be retained by the DoE, it could improve and strengthen its operations,” he said during a press conference at the ESG and Brands Forum 2024 today.
Nik Nazmi said constraints faced by the DoE include equipment, staff and vehicles, which are not sufficient to keep up with the pollution issues that arise. “I have met with the second finance minister and his team. The Ministry of Finance is open, and we are discussing how we can proceed.”
Nik Nazmi explained that the DoE depends on government funding, but if it is allowed to keep some of the fines – which have been increased from RM100,000 to RM10 million – it could greatly benefit the department.
He said this is part of the second phase of amendments to the Environmental Quality Act.
Furthermore, he said that they are also looking into realising the National Biodiversity Centre in Malaysia which has been discussed since the 1990s.
“There’s already a policy decision, but the question is how we will operationalise it. We want to establish a public-private partnership,” he said.
Additionally, Nik Nazmi said, they are working on strengthening the low-carbon city framework, particularly the low-carbon city programme run by Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation, to make it more effective and comprehensive.
The minister said that during his time in charge of the portfolio, he has heard and seen many Malaysian companies taking bold steps towards transformation, embracing sustainable practices not just for economic benefit but to ensure a positive impact on the environment. “So, the will and desire are certainly there.”
The Madani government has and will be doing all it can to create the proper ecosystem to support this, Nik Nazmi said. “I challenge more Malaysian companies to consider similar paradigm shifts, integrating sustainability at the core of your strategies and operations.”
Nik Nazmi said the corporate world, government, and civil society must work hand-in-hand to ensure that ESG principles become an integral part of the business culture.
“I understand this is not easy. It’s tough bringing people together even for something as win-win as this. But we all will lose if our environment is devastated and Malaysia gets left behind economically because we cannot get a grip on ESG,” he added.
