MARCH 22 — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has been following closely the developments concerning the hazardous and illegal chemical discharge into Sungai Kim Kim in Johor affecting almost 6000 people; directly impacting their human rights to the highest attainable standard of health, to physical integrity, to safe water and the right to a healthy environment.
Although we note that the government has now completed the decontamination of a stretch of the affected area declaring it safe and that the police have arrested 11 individuals in connection to the crime, Suhakam is appalled that a waste dumping syndicate has been operating in the area for many years without suspicion from law enforcement, regulatory and environmental agencies, the local council and/or state land office. In our view, these bodies can be held responsible and accountable to the public for their failure to take steps to prevent corporate crime of this nature, possibly entrenching impunity for the polluters. It is unknown if these agencies have even undertaken compliance assessments and audits of businesses that use or store hazardous materials operating in the area.
Suhakam is equally concerned that the law, namely the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005 has not been successfully enforced to protect public health and the environment, indicating that critical gaps remain. Suhakam believes that the victims and affected parties can consider civil litigation as an additional tool to seek redress.
Suhakam is encouraged that the Government, through the Ministry of Health has put in place a process to periodically check the health of victims affected by the toxic dumping and recommends cost free medical treatment should they suffer long-term health consequences. Suhakam hopes that the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change will also embrace a rights-based approach in its response to the situation and will fully disclose the results of their investigation, particularly to the affected parties.
This incident should be a reminder to the Government that exposure to environmental pollution is a serious health risk, particularly in a developing country such as ours where lack of investment in modern technology and weak environmental laws directly contribute to high pollution of this nature. Suhakam therefore calls on the Government to recognise the importance of working with businesses to strengthen regulations and practices regarding the chemical industry, in line with human rights standards. In this regard, Suhakam reiterates our call for a national action plan on business and human rights for Malaysia.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
