00:00A six-month moratorium on plastic and e-waste imports proposed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
00:06Commission must lead to long-term policy reforms, say environmental groups.
00:11The Consumers Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia welcomed the move as a crucial
00:17first step towards dismantling what they call waste colonialism, but said more needs to
00:22be done to tackle its root causes.
00:25As Magiswari, honorary secretary of CAP and SAM, said waste minimization as well as zero-waste
00:31policies and systems are the way forward to end the crisis.
00:36Meanwhile, Greenpeace Malaysia also said the moratorium must be used as a window of opportunity
00:42to put in place permanent, science-based policies that will protect communities and the environment
00:48in the longer term.
00:49The NGO's campaign lead, Hankia Chun, said this should include banning imports of export
00:55oriented plastic waste, especially low value and hard to recycle plastics that Malaysia
01:00does not have the capacity to manage safely.
01:04He also advocated for stronger enforcement of the Basel Convention, an international treaty
01:10that regulates the movement of hazardous waste across borders.
01:14On January 16th, MACC chief Azam Baki said the commission had proposed a moratorium to assess
01:20the economic, environmental and enforcement impact of plastic and e-waste imports.
01:25Naramtha Raja, F&T.
