MALAYSIANS convicted of littering or violating public cleanliness laws may now be sentenced to perform community service, such as collecting litter, scrubbing drains or cleaning public toilets, for up to 12 hours over a six-month period from Jan 1, next year, said Housing and Local Government Minister (KPKT) Minister Nga Kor Ming.
Speaking at the National Launch of Malaysia Clean-up Day in conjunction with World Clean-up Day 2025 at Pantai Cahaya Negeri in Port Dickson today, he said the penalty was aimed at educating rather than punishing offenders.
“This is a corrective measure, not punitive. The decision on how it is carried out – whether in one day or split into several sessions, for example, three sessions of four hours each – is left to the Magistrate’s Court,” he said.
Kor Ming stressed that public ignorance would no longer be accepted as an excuse, following extensive announcements and public notices regarding the new enforcement.
“Countries like Korea, Japan, Sweden and Singapore have already proven the effectiveness of this approach. There are no more excuses. Malaysians have gone to school for years but still struggle to maintain cleanliness. If there’s a will, there’s a way,” he remarked.
On Saturday, KPKT also aimed to set two new Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) entries: the largest nationwide simultaneous clean-up involving 100,000 participants, and the highest quantity of used cooking oil collected in a single day, with a minimum target of 3,000 kilograms.
Kor Ming said the nationwide "Malaysia Clean-up Day" initiative was designed to raise public awareness about cleanliness, recycling and environmental stewardship.
In a related development, he also announced that Malaysia had been awarded the ‘Global Zero Waste Foundation Special Citation Award’, the highest honour of its kind globally.
The award ceremony will take place in Istanbul, Türkiye, this October. - September 27, 2025
