KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Traders are not being forced, but are allowed to charge consumers 20 sen for each biodegradable plastic bag starting this Friday, Khalid Samad clarified today amid confusion over his previous statement on the matter.

The Federal Territories minister said the 20 sen charge is not a blanket charge.

"Beginning March 15, all businesses and retailers are allowed to implement a 20 sen charge for biodegradable plastic bags supplied to customers,” he said in a statement.

The nominal fee which aimed to encourage consumers to cut down on the usage of single-use plastic bags had been dubbed the "pollution charge’ in the media.

"Charges imposed on the customers will be used to bolster the manufacturing costs to produce these biodegradable plastic bags, which has always been borne by the retailers,” Khalid added.

He advised consumers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan to take their own bags while shopping if they wanted to avoid the 20 sen charge.

The DAP-led Penang government had initiated a similar practice after taking the state in 2008.

Khalid announced the 20 sen charge for the three Federal Territories last Sunday, saying the government is hoping to cut plastic waste as part of its Roadmap Towards Zero Single-Use Plastics 2018-2030.

The Pakatan Harapan federal government said last year it wants all states to introduce a fee for plastic bags at all supermarkets, retail stores and restaurants by 2021.