KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia may have a decade-old specialised court to hear environmental issues, but judges still lack the technical know-how and sensitivity to make informed judgments on the matter, said an expert in water governance.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Faculty of Law academician Assoc Prof Rasyikah Md Khalid said this has been identified as one of the reasons pollution and water issues remain prevalent.
She pointed out that cases involving environmental issues are often technical, requiring expertise in order to make appropriate judgments and decisions.
However, Rasyikah said not many judges in the country are specialised enough to try these cases.
“We do have an environmental court, but we also have a problem of judges either not being well trained in such cases or not sensitive to such issues.
“They hear both criminal and civil cases just like any other case,” she said at the Human Rights Commission’s (Suhakam) forum on the right to clean water.
The environmental court was first established in September 2012.
Rasyikah’s statement comes amid rising tensions between the Kedah and Penang governments over the former’s plan to reduce water supply to its neighbouring state by building large water tanks along Sg Muda.
Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng has described Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s plan to stop water supply to the state as an act of war and a means to “extort” money from Penang.
Similarly in the Klang Valley, the right to clean water has been a matter of much contention, following a slew of water disruptions over the past couple of years.
Rasyikah commended former chief justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum – who has been an advocate for environmental issues – as being one of the very few in the judiciary to have a strong understanding of the field.
“He has done so much to try to increase the environmental awareness among judges, and I can only hope this will continue,” she said.
Suhakam vice-chairman Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, when moderating the question and answer session, said sessions court judges are the ones who usually sit in environmental court.
Punish water operators, too
Commenting on the rampant water cuts in the Klang Valley, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason said water operators should be penalised, too, especially if there are lengthy disruptions.
He proposed that operators be issued a fine for every day of disrupted supply exceeding a predetermined time frame.
“Look at the United Kingdom, for example. If there is a planned disruption, the maximum (period) is only four hours. If the operators exceed the time, they have to pay a fine.
“For major bursts, the maximum time (given for repairs) is 48 hours. In Malaysia, there doesn’t seem to be adequate laws to punish water operators,” he said.
While acknowledging that there has been quite a number of water disruptions in the Klang Valley due to pollution in the past two years, National Water Service Commission regional operation division senior director Mohd Jalaludin Sulaiman said this has been largely addressed.
He noted that there have not been instances of water pollution leading to supply cuts since November last year after the federal and Selangor governments heightened enforcement.
Jalaludin said the government has started aerial surveillance via drone technology, with a focus on two important rivers – Sg Langat and Sg Selangor.
“As has been announced previously, the government is also considering increasing the maximum penalty for scheduled waste pollution to RM15 million from the current RM500,000,” he said. – The Vibes, April 6, 2021
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