Final Together, Protecting the Enviroment

There must be a reason why some people can
afford to live well. They must have worked for
it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I
see people throwing away things we could use.

- Mother Teresa

100 Pantai Chenang, Langkawi.

Chapter 4

Management of Air
Quality and

Climate Change

MANAGEMENT OF AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Mohd Talib Latif, Ezahtul Shahreen Ab Rahman, Azliyana Azhari & Murnira Othman

INTRODUCTION

Air quality is a global issue that affects human beings all over the world. Since the
industrial revolution in the 18th century, industrial activities have contributed to the
level of air pollutants in many countries of the world. Urbanisation and the increasing
number of motor vehicles add to the high concentration of air pollutants in ambient
air. Short-lived main criteria air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide
(SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), surface ozone (O3) as well as fine particles have been
identified as pollutants that directly affect human health. Long-lived air pollutants such
as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) contributed to the greenhouse effect and
global warming.

As a country that evolves from agricultural-based activities to industrialisation and rapid
urbanisation, Malaysia is also affected by high concentrations of air pollutants especially
in city centres and industrial areas (Sani and Jahi, 1987). Urbanisation processes involve
the development of new satellite townships that gradually connects between each other
and form large scale urban areas such as Greater Kuala Lumpur. With a high number
of motor vehicles on roads in these areas, the concentrations of air pollutants such as
in Greater Kuala Lumpur is recorded at higher concentrations compared to other areas
in Malaysia.

Biomass burning and transboundary emission that contribute to haze episodes almost
every year since the 1980s is one of the main challenges for air quality management
in Malaysia. During the dry season, especially between June and October, biomass
burning episodes from Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia influence the air quality in
Malaysia. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) determines the dry period that occurs in
this region and prolongs the haze episode in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

The emission of air pollutants in Malaysia has been associated with climate change
(Ramli and Munisamy, 2015). Motor vehicles and industrial emissions contributs to the
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emission
per capita shows increasing trends since 1960 and is currently around 8 t per capita/
year (Worldometer, 2022). Malaysia’s rapid development through industrialisation and
urban development are the major factors that contribute to CO2 emissions.

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AIR QUALITY IN MALAYSIA

Air quality in Malaysia has been studied in detail since the 1970s. Early studies on air
pollution in Malaysia are more related to total suspended particulate (TSP) in urban
environments, particularly during haze episodes. Air pollutant measurements have been
recorded for TSP by both the Malaysia Meteorological Department and the Department
of Environment in a few selected areas such as Kuala Lumpur. Sani (1987), who in
collaboration with the Malaysia Department of Meteorology air quality conducted such
studies with a special focus on Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya Malaysia. These early
studies indicated that the concentration of total suspended particulate in several areas in
Malaysia was due to land-use changes and deforestation of agricultural and residential
land.

The Environmental Quality Monitoring Program (EQMP) is a significantly enhanced
nationwide network of environmental quality monitoring stations compared to the
preceding monitoring program (1995-2016). The EQMP, which encompasses air, river
water and marine water quality monitoring network, is ultimately aimed at the protection
of human health, the nation’s water resources and its rich marine biodiversity and
resources. EQMP is a programme which is made up of data collection for air quality
monitoring, river water quality and marine water quality throughout Malaysia to report
the actual levels of the nation’s environmental quality to monitor, prevent and control
pollution. The environmental monitoring system is primarily meant to monitor the
ambient status and acts as an early warning mechanism if any significant change is
detected at the point of monitoring for the impact of environmental pollution such as
haze and industrial disasters as for air, oil spills on the marine environment and effluents
on affected rivers and water courses. The environmental data assists the policy and
decision makers to provide input to the planning of project developments and assist the
DOE in planning their enforcement activities.

The DOE monitors the nation’s air quality status via 65 monitoring stations located throughout

Malaysia to detect any significant changes in the environment quality which may be

harmful to human health and the environment. The objective of the network is to

provide quality-assured data on the level of key priority air pollutants in selected areas

representative of various land use located throughout the nation. Hence, the air quality

monitoring stations are categorised as urban, suburban, industrial, rural and background.

The data generated allows for an assessment of potential health impacts to be made

upon which the appropriate management actions are based, may it be in the long, mid,

or short term. The air quality status in Malaysia is depicted through Air Pollutant Index

(API), calculated based on the average concentration of air cpoonllcuetanntrtastionnam(deolymiSnaOn2t,
NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5 and PM10. The air pollutant with the highest
pollutant) determines the API value. The air quality trend for the period 2010 to 2020 is

calculated by averaging annual air quality data received from the monitoring sites and with

reference to Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard (Table 4.1) (DOE, 2022).

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Air Quality and Climate Change

Air pollution and climate change are interconnected where climate change is also
suggested to impact and enhance the level of air pollutants and mortality. The emission of
greenhouse gases (GHG) and CO2 are the main concerns related to climate change and
global warming. GHG and air pollutants are emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels
and combustion processes in addition to sources from road transport and manufacturing
industries (Chuah et al., 2006; Rahman et al., 2017). The emission of pollutants from
these sources then remains in the atmosphere and each pollutant has its properties
which affect its radiative forcing, a lifetime in the atmosphere and atmospheric chemistry
such as PM that have a direct impact on radiative forcing by scattering and absorbing
radiation (Farid et al., 2022).

Moreover, oxidation reaction with the aid of solar radiation for pollutants such as CO,
CH4 and NMVOCs produce tropospheric O3 which is also known as short-lived climate
forces (SLCF) that enhance climate change effects (Smith et al., 2022). Other SLCFs
such as black carbon plays a significant role in affecting atmospheric chemistry and
stability. Black carbon is known to have a positive radiative effect; scattering solar
radiation; absorbing or emitting thermal radiation, and has hydrophobic characteristics
which can delay the wet deposition process. The impact of current climate change is
also suggested to affect future air quality. As reported by Nguyen et al. (2020), the
effect of climate change will worsen the concentration of O3 and PM2.5 in future from the
projection of Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP8.5) which forecasts future
concentrations until the year 2100. The future concentration of GHG and temperature
will also increase if there is no further mitigation on emission reduction.

Major Sources of Atmospheric Pollutants

Atmospheric air contains about 78% nitrogen, 20.9% oxygen and other gases. The
atmospheric layer is known to be divided into four layers; troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. The most important atmospheric layer
which is usually discussed widely is the tropospheric layer which is near to the earth’s
surface and contains various air pollutants. Air pollutants can be grouped as primary
air pollutants and secondary air pollutants. The source of pollutants can be varied from
various contributions and factors (Spiridonov and Ćurić, 2021).

The source of air pollutants in Malaysia is widely studied for criteria air pollutants. The

source of air pollutants in urban areas is associated with motor vehicles and industrial

emissions (Dominick et al., 2012; Mohtar et al., 2018). A study by Mohtar et al. (2018)

shows that urban air pollutants in the Klang Valley, was related to incomplete combustion

of fossil fuel and vehicle emission that contributed to the high level of CO and NO2.
iSnOdu2 swtraiasl suggested as the major source of port emissions, coal-fired power plants and
activities. Source contribution of CO and NO2 which are related to vehicle

emissions was also in agreement with Latif et al. (2021)where during movement control

order (MCO) due to pandemic COVID-19, selected activities related to economic and

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social were not allowed which reduce the number of vehicles on the road as well as CO
parnedcNurOso2 rcsosnuccehntarastiNonO.xSaunrdfacveolaOt3ileisoargsaencoicncdoamrypaoiur npdosllu(tVaOntCasn)dpilsayasasoscigiantieficdawnitthroitles
in the formation of O3 (Mohtar et al., 2018).

High particulate matter (PM) concentration in Malaysia is mainly related to biomass
burning emissions during the dry season and the southwest monsoon (Khan et al.,
2016; Othman et al., 2021). Biomass burning is known to be contributed by forest fires,
agriculture burns and peat fires which occur naturally and by anthropogenic activities.
Peat fires which are categorised as major sources of biomass burning are usually related
to drained peatland for agricultural purposes where this peatland area is easily burned in
the dry season (Latif et al., 2018). Smoke from peat areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan
contains high concentrations of PM and toxic gases produce transboundary haze
episodes (Othman et al. 2016). Species such as sulphate, nitrate, potassium, and high
molecular weight of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo[b]fluoranthene
(B[b]F) and Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (I[c]P) were identified as the major component of
PM during haze episode and the southwest monsoon (Jamhari et al., 2014; Sulong et
al., 2019).

Air Quality Standard

Ambient air pollution is a major environmental health issue that affects people in low-,
middle-, and high-income countries alike. In 2016, ambient air pollution was predicted
to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide owing to exposure to PM2.5, which
causes cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, as well as malignancies (Ostro et
al., 2018). According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2016), 58% of outdoor air
pollution-related premature deaths in 2016 were caused by ischemic heart disease and
stroke, while 18% were caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute
lower respiratory infections, respectively, and 6% were caused by lung cancer. As
outlined by the World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guidelines: Global Update 2021
(WHO, 2021), it provides an assessment of the health effects of air pollution as well as
threshold levels of health-harmful pollution that should be avoided. Air quality standards
are typically health-based guidelines that determine the maximum concentrations
of air pollutants to which the vast majority of the population can be exposed without
experiencing significant detrimental impacts during their lifetime.

The new Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard (MAAQS) was designed to replace the

1989 Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guideline. The new Ambient Air Quality Standard

adopts six criteria for air pollutants, including five existing ones (Table 4.1): particulate

matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometres (PM10), SO2, carbon
CO, NO2, O3, as well as one new additional parameter: particulate matter less than 2.5
mThicreroeminettererism(PtaMrg2.5e)t.sThhaevleimbiteefonr air pollutants will be gradually increased until 2020.
established: interim target 1 (IT-1) in 2015, interim

target 2 (IT-2) in 2018, and full standard implementation in 2020. However, as of 2020

MAAQS IT-2 is still being used.

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Table 4.1: Air Quality Standard for Main Criteria for Air Pollutants in Malaysia
(Source: DOE, 2015)

POLLUTANT AVERAGE UNIT AAQG IT-1 IT-2 STANDARD
TIME (1989) (2015) (2018) (2020)

Particulate matter 1 Year µg/m3 50 50 45 40
100
with size less than 10

micron (PM10) 24 Hour µg/m3 150 150 120

Particulate matter 1 Year µg/m3 - 35 25 15
with size less than 2.5 24 Hour µg/m3 - 75 50 35
micron (PM2.5)

1 Hour µg/m3 350 350 300 250
80
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 24 Hour µg/m3 105 105 90

1 Hour µg/m3 320 320 300 280
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 70

24 Hour µg/m3 75 75 75

Ground level ozone 1 Hour µg/m3 200 200 200 180
(O3) 8 Hour µg/m3 120 120 120 100

Carbon monoxide 1 Hour mg/m3 35 35 35 30
(CO) 8 Hour mg/m3 10 10 10 10

Air Quality Index

The air quality index (AQI) has become a popular approach to understanding the level
of air pollution and is used as a tool for air pollution management in various countries
(USEPA 2003). Air Quality Index (AQI) is a useful and simple indicator for air quality
conditions.

Air Pollutant Index (API) is used in Malaysia as a simple numerical scale which is
designed to correlate air pollutants concentration to human health. The API is calculated
based on six major air pollutants; PM10, PM2.5, O3, CO, SO2 and NO2 based on the
Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Standard (MAAQS) 2015/2020 (DOE 2015). Figure 4.1
shows how API is calculated in Malaysia and Table 2 shows the API categories, index
values and cautionary statements for each category. The API is useful in indicating the
condition of air quality which reflects effects on human health and is easily understood
by the public (DOE 2015).

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Figure 4.1: How API is Calculated in Malaysia (DOE 2015)

Table 4.2: API categories, index values and cautionary statements
(Source: DOE 2015)

CATEGORY API CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

Good 0-50 None

Moderate 51-100 Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing
Unhealthy for 101-150 prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.
Sensitive Groups 151-200
Unhealthy People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and
201-300 children should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor
Very unhealthy exertion and source of pollutants.
>301
Hazardous People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and
children should avoid prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion;
everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor
exertion.

People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and
children should avoid all physical activity outdoors.
Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy outdoor
exertion.

Everyone should avoid all physical activity outdoors; people
with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should
remain indoors and keep activity level slow.

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AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT LAW RELATED TO AIR QUALITY

Over the last half-century, many countries have transformed from an agrarian-based rural
economy towards an industrial-based urban economy (Cohen, 2006). As a consequence,
various human activities in these countries now emit harmful particulates (often defined
as PM10 or PM2.5) and gases (e.g. ozone, nitrogen dioxide) and thus severely pollute
the air (Duh et al., 2008). As with other developing nations, Malaysia has experienced
rapid industrial development and urbanisation and aims to become a developed country
by the year 2020 (Aznam Yusof and Bhattasali, 2008). This economically beneficial
development process, however, has also polluted the atmosphere (Awang et al., 2000).

The Department of Environment (DOE), Malaysia was initially established in September
1975. The DOE has the mandate to administer the Environmental Quality Act (EQA)
1974, in line with the department’s vision, “Environmental Conservation for the Well-
being of the People” and mission “To ensure Sustainable Development in the Process
of Nation Building”. The main objectives of the DOE are to eliminate, eradicate and
control air, land, water and marine pollution and, to attain sustainable hazardous waste
management in the country through technical capabilities and enforcement activities.
The DOE has developed policies and strategies for controlling air pollution caused by
motor vehicles, industries, biomass burnings and transboundary haze pollution.

Controlling Air Pollution Sources in Malaysia

Transportation

The rapid growth in economic development and population has resulted in a
significant increase in demand for transportation. Rapid urbanisation has led to
increased levels of air pollution and a consequent deterioration in air quality, mainly
in major cities in Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and Johor Bahru.
According to the Road Transport Department (RTD), the number of registered
vehicles in Malaysia has increased at an annual average of 6-10%. Essentially, the
transport sector is an important component of the social economy and is regarded
as a common benchmark for development. However, this development in modes
of travel and the transport, network needs to be balanced with the protection
and preservation of the environment. The development of transportation that is
environmentally sustainable has been an overriding aim of the DOE which has
introduced legislation to control pollution from motor vehicles. Since 1996, the
Environmental Quality Act, 1974 and Regulations have been in force to control
emissions from motor vehicles as well as the quality of automotive fuel properties.

From the time of implementation of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the DOE
has conducted roadside inspection programs for all petrol- and diesel-driven
vehicles. The vehicle inspection programs reveal a clear indication of compliance
with emission standards. According to the DOE Annual Report, both petrol and

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diesel engines have recorded more than 98% compliance with the standards over
the past 5 years. However, the astonishing pace at which the number of motor
vehicles is growing has also led to traffic and environmental problems such as an
increase in urban traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Therefore, the
current approach to control emissions is found to be no longer effective and efficient
because of constraints in manpower for enforcement, an increase in operating cost,
and health hazards to DOE’s enforcement officers as they are exposed to pollution,
dry weather and safety issues at the roadside. For long-term results, new strategies
and a creative approach need to be adopted to control motor vehicle emissions as
there has been greater sophistication in the technology used to control emissions
from vehicles as the vehicles themselves are more advanced towards green ‘eco
drive’ and energy efficiency.

Several control measures conducted by DOE to control air pollutants emissions
from transportation is briefly described below:

i. Control of Smoke and Gaseous Emissions from Motor Vehicles

Emission of smoke and gaseous pollutants such as CO, hydrocarbons
(HC), NOx and PM emitted from motor vehicle exhausts are controlled
under the Environmental Quality (Control of Emission from Diesel Engines)
Regulations 1996 and the Environmental Quality (Control of Emission from
Petrol Engines) Regulations 1996.

The control of excessive black smoke emission emitted from diesel vehicle
exhausts is monitored through curbside operations with other enforcement
agencies (RTD dan Police Traffic Unit of PDRM) and surveillance through
video and camera. Through this programme, the DOE’s mobile squad and
the relevant agencies would enforce traffic through roadblocks in suitable
areas and test petrol vehicles for excessive gas emission and diesel
vehicles for excessive black smoke. Compounds are issued on the spot
to drivers and owners if their vehicles fail to comply with the stipulated gas
and smoke limit (50% opacity). A prohibition order (prohibiting vehicle use)
is issued if the smoke limit exceeds 70% opacity.

ii. Type Approval Test (Petrol and Diesel Vehicle)

Malaysia has established exhaust emission standards for new petrol
vehicles to improve exhaust emission by utilizing new engine design and
emission control technology. Any new model of a motor vehicle that is
commissioned on or after 1st January 2000 is required to comply with the
emission standards prescribed in the Third Schedule of the Environmental
Quality (Control of Emission from Petrol Engines) Regulations, 1996 which
is based on the Council Directive 94/12/EEC and 93/59/EEC.

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To control emissions from diesel vehicles in Malaysia, each new model
of a motor vehicle on or after January 1, 1997, is required to comply with
emission standards prescribed in the Second Schedule, Environmental
Quality (Control of Emission from Diesel Engines) Regulations, 1996, which
is based on ECE Regulation No.49.02 and Council Directive 93/59/EEC.

iii. Control of Emission from Motorcycles

From 1st January 2016, all new models of motor motorcycles are required to
comply with the standards EURO3 for gaseous emissions from motorcycles
by referring to European Committee 97/24/EC amendments 2002/51/ EC
Chapter 5 ANNEX II sec. 2.2.1.1.5. of 19 July 2002 or World of motorcycle
emission test cycle “WMTC” under the European Committee (“EC”) 2006/72
/ EC of 18 August 2006. Compliance with the EURO3 emission standards
for motorcycles existing model started on 1st January 2017.

In addition to the above, more recent strategies to manage air pollution from
transportation have been introduced and implimated as briefly described below:

i. Guided Self-Regulation

Guided Self-Regulation (GSR) has been identified and proposed as a new
approach to control emissions from motor vehicles. The DOE has been
practising GSR in controlling point source pollution, as in the case of the
industrial sector where they have given the industry the responsibility
of maintaining pollution control equipment and monitoring closely the
compliance of their emission standards. The DOE has improved on existing
standard operating procedures and adopted the GSR approach as the best
available way to control pollution from motor vehicles. The GSR approach
has targeted greater responsibility on the part of the owner of the vehicles
to do maintenance and inspection (M&I) of their vehicles.

Under the GSR approach, the current operation of video cameras and
observation of smoke from vehicles will be stepped up. This operation has
been found to be very effective to control smoke-emitting vehicles as the
operation needs minimum manpower and the number of vehicles observed
at any one particular time is relatively greater compared to roadside
inspections. For this operation, those vehicles that are caught emitting
excess smoke would receive a written notice from the DOE state office.
The vehicle owners are required to conduct emission testing in designated
PUSPAKOM testing centres. For those who do not comply with the written
notice, more stringent enforcement action will be taken, e.g. prosecution in court.

The current regulations for controlling emission from motor vehicles defines
a fleet operator (FO) as a company, firm, society or other body of persons,

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or any person who owns and operates 10 units or more motor vehicles. A
FO must now operate and maintain an approved facility. This means the
fleet operator must be equipped with the necessary smoke meter for diesel
engines or gas analyser for petrol engines and must have at least a trained
personnel for carrying out the emission testing to monitor their vehicles.
Under the GSR approach, the DOE strengthens enforcement against the
FOs throughout the country. The DOE also identifies and engages the new
FOs, especially those with heavy vehicles which are more than 3.5 tonnes,
to be equipped with the necessary equipment, conduct inspection and have
in place a maintenance (I/M) program to monitor and control emissions from
their vehicles. Essentially, the I/M program has the potential to significantly
reduce emissions of CO, HC, NOx, PM and smoke from motor vehicles.

ii. Authorised Testing Centre (ATC)

As part of the GSR approach to control emissions from motor vehicles,
‘Approved Facilities’ like PUSPAKOM should improve their current role
to become an Authorised Testing Centre (ATC). The Authorised Testing
Centre will be authorised to conduct tests on the smoke-emitting vehicles
which have been ‘caught’ on DOE’s Video Camera or in an Observation
Operation or in any other operation that that they have conducted. All the
test results at the ATC should be recorded and provided to the DOE. The
records of the emission testing could be used for analysis and evaluation
and development of policy and aid further decision making on the part of the
DOE. The DOE may use the collected data to undertake further analysis
and identify options or develop better strategies for controlling pollution
from transportation, such as the mandatory retirement of old vehicles,
implementation of alternative fuels, introduction of more stringent emission
standards or the initiation of incentive programs to encourage freight
operators to change to better fuel efficiency engines in their daily operations.

Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (IM) programs help to improve air
quality by identifying high pollutant emitting vehicles that need to be repaired.
The inspection may be through visual inspection, emission testing, or more
precisely identified from a vehicle’s on-board diagnosis system. Servicing
and maintaining a vehicle in good condition requires a combination of these
inspection activities on the vehicles. Good I/M programs are very important
to keep the vehicle in good operating condition and in compliance with
the emission standards. To ensure good I/M programs, the Vehicle Service
Centres (VSCs) should play a very important role in giving good advice,
consultations and services to vehicle owners.

iii. Vehicle Service Centres (VSCs)

Currently, most Vehicle Service Centres (VSCs) in Malaysia only perform
service and routine checks on the vehicles without carrying out any

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inspection of vehicle emissions. Currently, the service only covers replacing
the oil filter, engine oil, spark plugs, etc. What this means is that vehicles
that have been serviced and maintained by service centres do not know
if they have complied with DOE’s emission standards. In this case, the
service centre should improve their current service offerings by having
testing equipment such as a smoke or opacity meter for diesel engines
and CO/HC gas analyser for petrol engines; also trained personnel to
conduct the exhaust emission testing on the motor vehicles. In this regard,
all testing results should be recorded and conveyed to DOE where they will
be centralised in its database system for monitoring purposes. One of the
main outcomes expected from giving a greater role for the VSC in the GSR
approach is that the individual vehicle owners will be more confident with
the quality of service and maintenance at the service centre and be more
certain of the vehicle’s emission compliance.

Air Pollutants from Industry

Industrial activities are one of the main sources of air pollutants apart from motor
vehicles and biomass burning emissions. As part of the development of CAAP 2010,
a new clean air regulation of the Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations
2014 (hereby CAR2014) was promulgated in June 2014, addressing the need to
revise and replace the old version of CAR 1978. The CAR2014 is a bold piece of
a legislative document where the imposed emission concentration standards are
up-to-date versions adopting the latest emission control technologies available in
the market. In other words, CAR2014 is supported by guidance documents based
on the Best Available Techniques (BAT). Consequently, drastic measures are taken
by the industry towards achieving the goals of safeguarding and improving the air
quality through the legislation. The non-prescribed industries are subjected to the
Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014.

In order to improve compliance with the regulations, DOE has issued directives
to industries to install suitable and efficient pollution control equipment, upgrade
existing pollution control facilities, good planning and implementation schedule for
environmental management systems. In addition, various awareness activities are
conducted throughout the year for specific target groups. Such activities included
dialogues, seminars and workshops for industries, aiming to improve the level of
regulatory compliance. The DOE in its effort to ensure full compliance also promotes
the adoption of more efficient pollution control technologies, cleaner production
practices as well as self-regulation. The industries are also advised to set up a
good environmental management system and gain ISO 14000 certification.

CONTINUOUS EMISSION MONITORING SYSTEM

Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) installation is required under the
Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014 for specified industries. CEMS
refers to a package of equipment required for the determination of emission pollutants

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(gases, particulates or smoke opacity) which may include a sampling system, analyzer
or monitor, and other auxiliary equipment integrated with a data acquisition system.
The continuous measurement of emission pollutants either gases, particulates or smoke
(opacity) emitted from stationary sources provides a continuous record of air pollution
control equipment performance and determine compliance with emission of operation
limits. CEMS are required to be installed at certain facilities which are deemed to be
subjected to the Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014 (CAR 2014) or
at any activities which deem are required to be installed (e.g. EIA projects, problem
facilities) by the DOE jurisdiction under Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974. For the
plant operator, properly installed and operating CEMS can provide information about the
operation of key processes and describe the effectiveness of the air pollution control
techniques. Having the ability to examine various aspects of the facility’s operation can
provide the user with the opportunity to make critical adjustments for process optimisation
and cost reduction. Additionally, CEMS can prove to be important documentation of
compliance status in this time of heightened public concern about air pollution. For
regulatory agencies, the data provided by CEMS are used to supplement on-site visits,
identify problem sources, and determine if source emission limits and proper operation
and maintenance requirements are being met. With a better picture of actual emissions,
the regulator’s ability to develop strategies for the future program directed at emissions
reduction can be enhanced. The main goal of both the plant operators and the regulatory
agency is to obtain accurate and reliable information about stack emission as well as to
ensure that the industrial emission meets the regulated standards and does not harm
the environment.

HAZE AND OPEN BURNING

Major haze episodes in the country are due to transboundary air pollution. However,

local sources such as open burning activities also contribute to the situation, especially

during the dry seasons. Legislations to prevent and control open burning are already

in place such as the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Amendment 1998 and 2001),

Environmental Quality (Declared Activities) (Open Burning) Order 2003 and the

Environmental Quality (Delegation of Powers) (Investigation of Open Burning) Order

2000. Large scale and uncontrolled fires resulting from peatland and landfill fires, and

other biomass burnings release a significant number and amount of pollutants into

ethpeisoadtmeso,spthhuesreafifneccltuindgintghePeMn,vCiroOn2maenndt toxic gases. Such fires could result in haze
and public health. The Environmental Quality

Act 1974 was amended in 1998 to provide a more stringent penalty for open burning

offences. To enhance the enforcement capacity, the Department of Environment has

delegated powers to officers of the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Police,

Ministry of Health and Local Authorities to assist in the investigation of open burning

activities. Haze originates from a variety of sources that could be local or transboundary,

the largest source being biomass burning. Haze pollution due to land and forest fires

seriously affects the health of the people, particularly causing respiratory ailments as

well as affecting their livelihood. Forest fires have also resulted in degradation of peat soils,

erosion of biodiversity, loss of wildlife and habitat, and contributed to global climate change.

113

Malaysia has constantly been having open burning issues in recent years. Effects of
open burning have been one of the factors in the haze phenomenon. Haze occurs
when smoke from forest fires and open burning combines with local air pollution over
cities. Various solutions have been proposed for haze. In immediate terms, haze can
be mitigated by wearing facemasks, or by reducing exposure faced by vulnerable
people. Longer-term solutions, however, require the avoidance of fires (Forsyth, 2014).
During hazy periods, the DOE issues a ban against open burning activities to prevent
the situation becoming worse. Those convicted of an open burning offence can face
fines of not more than RM 500,000; or maximum imprisonment of five years; or both
according to Section 29A (2) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Rahman et al.,
2017). According to Razman et al. (2009), one of the best ways to solve environmental
pollution problems is by taking legal action to warrant the safety, prosperity and peace of
the general society. As for Malaysia, the Environmental Quality Act 1974 is considered to
be the most comprehensive piece of legislation promulgated to deal with environmental
protection and pollution control. The Act also forms the basic instrument for achieving
environmental policy objectives (Mustafa, 2019).

Monitoring and Enforcement of Open Burning Cases in Malaysia

Enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and its subsidiary legislation, of
which the prohibition of open burning is part of the sole responsibility of the Department
of Environment Malaysia (Mustafa, 2011). This responsibility is further assisted by
the relevant agencies in the enforcement specifically in the communication on the
enforcement, whereby the Director General of DOE delegates the powers under sections
38 and 38A of the Environmental Quality Act to the officers specified in the Schedule
for the purpose of investigating the offence under section 29A of the Act through the
Environmental Quality (Delegation of Powers) (Investigation of Open Burning) Order
2000. Herewith clearly that the Director General of DOE is required to communicate with
relevant government agencies on the delegation of power on enforcement focusing on
open burning cases in Malaysia. The DOE always takes serious matter on open burning
cases by ensuring efficient and timely enforcement. Besides that, the DOE conducts
various activities in the enforcement of open burning cases. Open burning cases are
detected through patrol operations that prevent open burning which is carried out by the
State DOE in areas identified as areas that are at risk of fire and often receive complaints
from the public. In addition, hotspot information is also obtained through satellites
monitored and reported by the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Center (ASMC).
Hotspot cases across the country are reported via satellite NOAA20. This information
on open burning is required to be channelled to all DOE offices including state DOE and
relevant government agencies on the delegation of power on enforcement focusing on
open burning cases in Malaysia through the e-KAS System or the Open Burning Module
and Complaint Module (Khairil et al., 2018).

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Peatland Fire Prevention Program

Peatland Fire Prevention Programme has been implemented from 2009 to 2022 by the
DOE. The implementation of this program was introduced as a proactive government
measure in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Malaysia Plan through the National Blue Ocean
Strategy (NBOS). Sustainable management of peatlands is very important to prevent
burning or fire on peatlands which can cause localized haze. Construction of canal
blocks (check dams), tube wells, retention ponds and water pipes has been identified
as effective methods for water management in peatlands to prevent and control open
burning. The program involves various agencies, which are DOE, Department of
Irrigation and Drainage (DID), Minerals and Geoscience Department (MGD), Selangor
Forestry Department, Sabah Forestry Department and Miri City Council (MCC).

The project has been implemented in seven (7) states which include Johor, Pahang,
Selangor, Kelantan, Sarawak, Sabah and Terengganu. The project includes construction
of 339 check dams namely Pahang (92), Johor (80), Terengganu (51), Sarawak (43),
Kelantan (36), Selangor (23) and Sabah (14). In addition, a total of 91 tube wells were
constructed namely Sarawak (15), Pahang (16), Johor (14), Kelantan (13), Selangor
(15), Sabah (11) and Terengganu (7). A total of 5 watch towers were also constructed
to monitor open burning, especially during the dry season namely Selangor, Pahang,
Sarawak and Sabah.

The success of this programme is also dependent on cooperation between agencies for
the prevention of peat fires. DOE as the focal point of the project manages the budgeting
of the programme and delegates the budget to the relevant agencies. For tube well,
construction and operation are under the Department of Mineral and Geoscience
while for check dam, construction and operation is under Department of Irrigation and
Drainage. For the watch tower, monitoring the surrounding area from the upper watch
tower is done by Malaysia Volunteer Department and sometimes by Fire and Rescue
Department and Forestry Department.

National Committee Meeting on Haze and Dry Weather

To address the mitigation of local and transboundary haze, the Ministry of Environment
and Water will conducts a steering committee meeting called National Committee Meeting
on Haze and Dry Weather twice a year chaired by the Minister of Environment and
Water. In this meeting, preparations for hot and dry weather is discussed together
with the relevant agencies in addressing fires and haze issues. As for transboundary
haze action, the Ministry plays it’s role under the ambits of the ASEAN Agreement on
Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP).

National Open Burning Action Plan

National Open Burning Action Plan outlines the actions of all departments and
government agencies involved to mobilise in an integrated and comprehensive manner
to avoid and reduce the risk of loss of life, loss of property as well environmental

115

destruction due to open burning. This Action Plan translates collaboration between
departments and government agencies in dealing with open burning through action
at the preventive, monitoring, suppression and enforcement level. This action plan
relates the actions specified in the existing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) from
other agencies and outlines some actions that have been updated and streamlined.
The plan also emphasizes integrated suppression operations that can be activated for
large-scale open burning that has not been categorised as a disaster case. The latter is
very important to ensure that the government can mobilise efficiently in ensuring open
burning can be controlled and extinguished in a timely manner.

National Haze Action Plan

The National Haze Action Plan is a guideline to enable the respective agencies involved
in managing the haze disaster to react expeditiously and in a coordinated manner
during haze episodes. The action lines to be taken up by each agency are based on the
level of the Air Pollutant Index (API) and its categories such as API ranging from 101 to
200 are unhealthy, 201 to 200 are very unhealthy and more than 300 are considered
hazardous level. Hence, it is very crucial for agencies to play their roles and comply with
the action lines outlined in this Action Plan to reduce the haze effect on the public and
the environment.

The National Haze Action Plan was revised in 2002, 2006, 2012, 2013 and most recently
in 2018 to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and coordination in managing the haze
crisis at local levels. On 16 August 2018, the API using fine dust parameters less than
2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) was first displayed to the public through the official website
of the Department of Environment. With this, the actions listed in this plan have been
adjusted more quickly during hazy conditions as the PM2.5 parameter is dominant in
such conditions as compared to the previous PM10 parameter. The Cabinet on 22
October 2018 agreed that this Action Plan is revised in line with the inclusion of the
PM2.5 parameter in the calculation of API.

CLIMATE CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA

In Malaysia, the most alarming indication of global warming includes temperature changes
where there are more dry days, longer duration of droughts and heavier rainstorms.
Studies showed that the mean annual temperature in Malaysia is in an increasing trend
and it is observed that the increase will range from 0.99 to 3.44°C per 100 years, which
is significant. The last decade has shown that flash floods and droughts had become
an annual occurrence in Malaysia, which affects commercial crops, water supply and
the overall livelihood of the flood victims. This also causes the government to allocate a
higher financial budget for infrastructure to adapt to climate change.

Malaysia had taken many initiatives to address the issue of climate change. Malaysia
ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in

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1994, Kyoto Protocol in 1999 and Paris Agreement in 2016. Establishments of the
institutional framework in the Government, such as the National Green Technology and
Climate Change Council (NGTCCC) chaired by the Honorable Prime Minister and the
National Steering Committee on Climate Change (NSCCC) chaired by the Secretary
General of the Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA) is important to have inter-
ministerial coordination to manage issues regarding climate change.

The National Policy on Climate Change

National policies and laws related to climate change has been identified and incorporated
under the national framework. These policies include the National Policy on Climate
Change, National Policy of Environment, National Forestry Policy and National Energy
Policy. While Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974 plays a major role in the protection
of the environment which indirectly helps in combating climate change. The National
Policy on Climate Change was formulated in 2009 to provide a framework to mobilise
and guide government agencies, industry, community as well as other stakeholders
and major groups in addressing the challenges of climate change in a holistic manner.
The National Policy enables the government to take concerted actions and identify
opportunities that can help navigate the nation towards sustainability.

The main objectives of the National Policy on Climate Change are:

i. Mainstreaming climate change through wise management of resources, while
enhanced environmental conservation results in strengthened economic
competitiveness and improved quality of life;

ii. Integration of responses into national policies plans and programmes to strengthen
resilience of development combating potential impacts of climate change; and

iii. Strengthening of institutional and implementation capacity to better harness
opportunities to reduce negative impacts of climate change.

National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory

The Kyoto Protocol sets specific Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for Annex 1
parties. Other parties (non-Annex 1) including Malaysia are obliged to report on their
emission level. DOE had played an active role as the lead agency in preparing the
report for GHG emissions from the waste sector consisting of the inventory of methane
emissions from various sources such as solid waste, scheduled wastes, domestic
wastewater, industrial wastewater and other industrial wastes such as empty fruit
bunch (EFB) from the palm oil industry. Thus, DOE has taken the initiative to form a
Committee on WG on Waste Sector which is responsible to collect and analyse data
on GHG emissions. The committee members appointed include related government
and private agencies such as National Solid Waste Management Department, Indah
Water Konsortium (IWK), Lembaga Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar Sarawak and Jabatan
Kerja Raya Sabah. Based on The Malaysia Second National Communication (NC2) and
Biennial Update Report (BUR), the waste sector is the second major GHG emission
source in Malaysia after the energy sector (Figure 4.2).

117

(a) (b)

Figure 4.2 Percentage of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sectors in a) 2000 in NC2 and b) 2011
in BUR (Right)

Source: Malaysia Second National Communication and Biennial Update Report

The main GHG emitted from the waste sector is methane gas (CH4). Methane is emitted
mainly during anaerobic decomposition of organic waste disposed at solid waste disposal
sites and during the handling of domestic and industrial wastewater under anaerobic
conditions. By developing GHG inventory for the waste sector, DOE can estimate and
understand emissions sources and also the trend to project future emissions. This is an
essential tool in identifying cost-effective emission reduction opportunities and developing
climate-related policies in Malaysia. GHG inventory also help in quantifying the benefits
of activities that reduce emissions and set goals or targets for future reductions.

Mitigating Climate Change

DOE continues to support initiatives and commitments by the Malaysian Government to
reduce carbon emissions. Aside from engaging the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) and
enforcing the EQA 1974, DOE has also undertaken programs or initiatives that contribute
to mitigating climate change such as Fire Prevention Programme at Peatlands, Motor
Vehicles Pollution Control, Green Industry Initiatives and Montreal Protocol Ratification.

Fire Prevention Programme at Peatlands

Sustainable management of peatlands is very important to prevent burning or fire
on peatlands which can cause localized haze. Based on a report on haze (DOE,
2005), a haze episode of 3 days results in a cost of about RM 238.2 mil, including
impact to transportation, health, tourism and agro-based industries. In addition,
peatland fires also contributs to climate change with GHG emissions of up to 600
dkgraCinOag2/ehebcltoacrkeso(fcpheeactklanddamafsfe),ctteudb.eUwnedlelsr,thweapteeraptloannddsm, awnaategrempiepnintgpraongdrawmamtceh,
towers are built in fire-prone areas to maintain the water level to prevent and
reduce open burning cases in peatlands and support fire suppression activities
within the affected area.

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Motor Vehicles Pollution Control

Road transportation is one of the major sources of GHG in Malaysia, where it
contributes 21% of the total GHG emissions in 2016 (KASA 2020). Based on the
statistics from the Road Transport Department, there are 17.2 million active in-
use motor vehicles (including motorcycles) throughout the country as recorded in
2016. Given the high potential of air pollution caused by the sheer number of motor
vehicles in Malaysia, DOE has taken various efforts in reducing and controlling
emissions from motor vehicles. Amendment to Environmental Quality (Control of
Petrol and Diesel Properties) Regulation 2007 in 2013 and 2015, shows significant
steps to improve the fuel quality standard in Malaysia. With better fuel quality
available to the public, DOE can subsequently enforce more stringent emission
standards for new models of motor vehicles. Thus, DOE is looking into improving
the current emission standards to EURO 5 or higher for both petrol and diesel-
powered vehicles which will ensure better control and reduction of GHG emissions.
By improving the emission standards to the higher EURO standards, the average
CO2 emissions in g/km of motor vehicles by engine types can effectively reduce
CO2 emissions.

Green Industry Initiatives

Many methods and tools can be adopted by the industries to achieve the status
of green industry. In Malaysia, the most significant approach which is currently
ongoing and promoted by DOE and to be adopted by industry is the cleaner
production (CP) concept. This concept is where a comprehensive strategy is
applied to prevent environmental degradation, increase process efficiency and
reduce risk for humans and the environment. Cleaner production emphasizes
behavioural changes, responsible environmental management and technology
options assessment. The CP is also in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG30) where Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production
(RECP) is one of the key elements to achieving a circular economy in the context
of sustainable environmental management. As a complement to the Command &
Control enforcement, DOE has adopted the soft enforcement approach namely
GSR to encourage the industries, particularly small-medium enterprises (SMEs)
to implement cleaner production concepts and green practices in their businesses
voluntarily. The economic, social and environmental benefits achieved from cleaner
production have developed a long-term commitment from the industries. In 2007,
DOE published the “Cleaner Production Blueprint for Malaysia” which outline a
strategic plan for CP implementation including the strengthening of laws and policy
framework. The promotion & CP implementation are also one of the strategies
under the DOE Strategic Plan 2011-2020.

Montreal Protocol

Malaysia ratified the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer on 29 August 1989. As a Party to the Montreal

119

Protocol, Malaysia has formulated policies and strategies to restrict and limit the
use of Ozone Depleting substances (ODS) and closely monitors the importation
and consumption of controlled substances. Malaysia also promotes the use of non-
ODS substitutes and alternatives in existing industries. Montreal Protocol is known
as one of the most successful environmental conventions in the world due to its
achievement in the protection of the ozone layer. Malaysia has made substantial
progress in implementing the Protocol. Malaysia’s success can be seen both
in the robust institutional framework, which is the establishment of the National
Ozone Unit (NOU) under the DOE and the successful implementation of the CFC
phase-out in 2009. Aside from being a strong ODS, CFCs have a very high global
warming potential (GWP: 4,660-13,900) compared to other alternatives, such as
HCFC (GWP: 79-1,980). Under the Montreal Protocol obligation, Malaysia has also
stopped the importation of CFC, halon and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) starting 1
January 2010.
The hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), are
now thought to contribute to anthropogenic global warming. On a molecule-for-
molecule basis, these compounds are up to 10,000 times more potent greenhouse
gases than carbon dioxide. The Montreal Protocol currently calls for a complete
phase-out of HCFCs by 2030 and the recent amendment to Montreal Protocol
(Kigali Amendment) calls for a phase-down of HFCs to be substituted with lower
GWP refrigerants. The Department under the HCFC Phase-Out Management
Plan (HPMP) had outlined strategies to phase out the use of HCFC in major
manufacturing sectors, reduce dependence on HCFCs and minimise the use of
HCFC in the servicing sector. The HPMP is developed with consensual between
government agencies and other stakeholders such as industries, to encourage
proactive partnerships between government and private sectors. Based on HCFC
Consumption Baseline of 515.8 ODP tonnes, Malaysia is committed to reduce the
consumption of HCFC by 10% ODP tonnes in 2015 and 35% ODP tonnes in 2020.
To date, Malaysia has successfully reduced its HCFC consumption by 19%.
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AUTHOR

Mohd Talib Latif a professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air
Pollution at the Department of Earth Sciences and Environment,
FST and a fellow of Malaysian Academy of Science (FASc). He
completed his BSc in Chemistry and MSc in Environmental Science
(Air Pollution) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and his PhD at the
School of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, United
Kingdom. Currently, he is a Chairman for Sustainable Resources,
Environment and Smart Living Research Cluster at Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia. His main research work includse the composition of atmospheric
aerosols, atmospheric gases such as surface ozone and volatile organic compounds
(VOCs). He is the recipient of the Top Research Scientist Malaysian (TRSM) Award from
Academy Science Malaysia in 2018.

Ezahtulsyahreen Ab Rahman is a Senior Environmental Control
Officer in the Department of Environment, Putrajaya. She completed
her BSc in Chemical Engineering and MSc in Industrial Management
and Technology at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is pursuing
her PhD in Engineering Faculty at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
and her research is focused on air quality modelling. Currently, she
is working in the Air Division and her responsibilities are in air quality
data analysis and haze management in Malaysia.

Azliyana Azhari is a Research Fellow in Climate Change
Communication at Monash University Malaysia. She received her
PhD in Environment and Development from Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia in 2018. Her research interests include climate-related
atmospheric hazards, air dispersion modeling and emission
management for sustainable management and policy. She’s
interested in translating the science of climate change and its impacts
to policy makers, stakeholders, and most importantly, to the people.

Murnira Othman is currently a Research Fellow at Institute for
Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia. Her PhD research was on life cycle assessment and
particulate matter composition assessment in building environment
while her MSc research was on biomass burning emission from peat
combustion both obtained from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Dr
Murnira is actively involved in projects related to the impact of indoor
air pollution on human health and the application of sensors in air
quality monitoring. She is also a Professional Technologist under the Malaysian Board
of Technologists (MBOT).

123

One touch of nature makes the whole
world kin.

- William Shakespeare

124 Cameron Highland, Pahang.

Chapter 5

Pollution Load
Control
and TMDL

Options for
Malaysia

PTOMLDLULTOIPOTNIOLNOASDFOCRONMTARLOALYASNIAD

Zaki Zainudin & Shazana Mohd Ibrahim

INTRODUCTION

The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) concept is not alien or new in Malaysia. The
method has been deployed in many river studies in both official or unofficial capacities,
for more than 15 years, and yet, its actual implementation remains elusive. Throughout
these years too, there have been many misunderstandings and misconceptions as to
what TMDL is, in Malaysia.

TMDL is a regulatory term in the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the US which deals with
the concept of pollution load control at the catchment level (hence the “total” in TMDL)
(US EPA, 1991). The CWA requires state environmental agencies complete TMDLs for
impaired waters and that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
review and approve/disapprove such TMDLs.

TMDL at its core, relates to the control of discharges from all point and non-point source
pollution to meet desired water quality standards (Ujang and Zainudin, 2010). This is an
important point to note, because TMDL doesn’t only deal with individual, single pollution
sources or even pollution source category, but rather the total number of sources, i.e., at
the macro level (eg. basin or sub-basin).

This not-so-subtle, distinction has caused confusion for many parties in Malaysia
involved in river basin management.

WASTE ASSIMILATIVE CAPACITY (WAC)

The underlying philosophy of TMDL ties with the “carrying capacity”, aka the waste
assimilative capacity (WAC) of a given water body. The WAC conjecture denotes
that a water body has a natural ability for “self-cleansing” when subjected to pollution
(Novotney and Olem, 1994; Zainudin et al., 2019). As long as the WAC is not exceeded,
the water body in question should not become polluted and meets desired water quality
standards.

Theoretically, the WAC comprises of several components. One of the major components
is dilution, which is directly related to the hydraulic properties of the river. In a nutshell,
the bigger and faster the river, the higher the dilution and dispersion of pollutants. Sg.
Liam (Figure 5.1) a tributary of Sg. Selangor, is smaller than its main-stem, with limited
WAC. In principle, the same amount of pollution load, would have more harmful effects
towards Sg. Liam, compared to the larger Sg. Selangor main-stem.

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This is a simple example of WAC, however, that is not all there is to it. The WAC also
comprises physico-chemical processes and interactions, such as stabilization of organic
matter, which in turn is intertwined with DO uptake and availability, as well as nitrification
and other complex processes (Cairns, 1998). These complex interactions between state
variables have been the subject of research and can be quantified through rate kinetic
formulations.

Figure 5.1: The waste assimilative capacity (WAC) of Sg. Liam (left), a tributary of Sg. Selangor
(right) is smaller compared to the main-stem due to its smaller size
127

Such physico-chemical interactions are illustrated in Figure 5.2, also culminated in the
development of water quality modeling tools, such as QUAL2K and WASP (Chapra
et al., 2005). This is also why water quality modeling tools are an integral part of TMDL
development (Fan et al., 2021).

Figure 5.2: Model kinetics and mass transfer processes. Kinetic processes are dissolution (ds),
hydrolysis (h), oxidation (ox), nitrification (n), denitrification (dn), photosynthesis (p), respiration
(r), excretion (e), death (d), respiration/excretion (rx). Mass transfer processes are reaeration (re),
settling (s), sediment oxygen demand (SOD), sediment exchange (se), and sediment inorganic

carbon flux (cf). (Chapra et al., 2005).
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AMBIENT WATER QUALITY STANDARDS IN MALAYSIA
There are several ambient water quality standards used in Malaysia. These standards
are typically related to beneficial use; what the water is going to be used for. The National
Water Quality Standards (NWQS) is one of the most referenced standards to benchmark
river water quality. Table 5.1 is an excerpt of the NWQS (DOE, 2018a). The NWQS
comprises six classes, in a nutshell, Class I being the “least polluted” and “degrades”
with class ascension. Compliance to designated water quality standards is an integral
part of TMDL. Such numerical standards are an integral part of TMDL because it sets
the tone, in terms of a desired water quality objective.

For example, if a particular river stretch is denoted Class III, the BOD thresholds
should not exceed 6 mg/L as per Table 5.1. What this means is, TMDL programs can
be developed to ensure BOD pollution loads do not incur change of river BOD that
it exceeds the targeted 6 mg/L threshold. TMDL measures are necessary because
conventional, concentration based regulatory approaches may fall short to preserve
water quality, as discussed in the next section.

Table 5.1: Excerpt of NWQS (DOE, 2018a)

EXISTING EFFLUENT DISCHARGE REGULATIONS IN MALAYSIA
Currently, effluent discharge in Malaysia is prescribed specific limits/standards which
needs to be complied to, prior to release to the general environment, such as a
surface water course. Compliance is achieved through a well-designed and operated
wastewater treatment system. There are several regulations which prescribe limits in
the Environmental Quality Act (EQA), 1974, such as :

i. The Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009;
ii. The Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009;
iii. Environmental Quality (Control of Pollution from Solid Waste Transfer Station and

Landfill) Regulations, 2009;
129

iv. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations 1977; and
v. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Raw Natural Rubber) Regulations 1978.
An example of such limits is shown in Table 5.2 below. In a nutshell, the more stringent,
Standard A limits apply when effluent is discharged upstream of a water intake, otherwise
Standard B applies.
While the effluent limits and NWQS are not meant to be compared, if one does so, one
quickly realizes that the limits (of many parameters) as per the effluent regulations are
much higher than the ambient standards. The reason for this, the effluent standards,
“tries to take into account” dilution/WAC by the river.
Unfortunately, this does not necessarily happen, as not all rivers are able to assimilate
the incoming effluent, depending on the WAC as previously discussed.
In addition, it should also be noted that not all pollution sources are governed under
the EQA, 1974. Wastewater from wet markets for example, is a grey area with no
pre-defined regulations and limits. Hence, even if all sources within a particular basin
meet the regulatory limits, it is still no guarantee that the receiving water body will be
preserved, as this is related to WAC and the prevailing load.

Table 5.2: Fifth Schedule, Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009

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Pollution Load Control and TMDL Options for Malaysia

A few other effluent sources which are not regulated under the EQA 1974, is controlled by:

i. Emission or Discharge of Pollutants (State of Selangor) Regulations 2012, Selangor
Waters Management Authority Enactment 1999; and

ii. Mineral Development (Effluent) Regulations 2016.

However, again the limits in these regulations too, are not load based, but concentration
based. The former is also only applicable for the state of Selangor (Chuan-Ng and
Zainudin, 2020).

POLLUTION LOADING

Pollution load is expressed as mass over time or the mass flow of a particular constituent.
For example, in the case of point-source discharge, it is the mass flow of BOD, TSS,
NH3-N and other constituents released over time. In TMDL proceedings, this is usually
expressed in kilogram per day (kg/day) pollutant. The pollution load is correlated to the
volumetric discharge via the following equation (Meals and Richards, 2013):

L=C×Q (1)

where :

L = load
C = the concentration of pollutant
Q = corresponding flow

From Equation (1), the pollution load is the dot product of concentration and volumetric

discharge. For example, discharge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) which

releases BOD at 30 mg/L and 0.05 m3/s would exert a BOD load of :
kg mg m3 1000L 1g 1kg 3600s 24hr
LBOD =30 0.05 X =129.6 kg/day
LBOD dkagy =30 mLg 0.05 ms3 110m003L X 10010gmg 1010kg0g 3610h0r s 12d4ahyr =129.6 kg/day
day L s 1m3 1000mg 1000g 1hr 1day

The above formula assumes a steady flow discharge over a 24-hour period. Another
WWTP discharging BOD at 30 mg/L but at 0.25 m3/s would exert a BOD load of :

LBOD kg mg m3 1000L 1g 1kg 3600s 24hr
LBOD =30 0.25 X =648 kg/day
dkagy =30 mLg 0.25 ms3 110m003L X 10010gmg 1010kg0g 3610h0r s 12d4ahyr =648 kg/day
day L s 1m3 1000mg 1000g 1hr 1day

From the examples above, despite both WWTPs discharging BOD at 30 mg/L, the latter
is discharging “more” load (648 kg/day) due to the higher volumetric release rate.

Things get stickier, in another scenario, where a WWTP contravening the law for BOD

at 60 mg/L (Standard B, BOD = 50 mg/L), but with only a volumetric discharge of 0.02
m3/s would exhibit a smaller load as follows:

131

kg mg m 1000L 1g 1kg 3600s 24hr
LBOD day =60 L 0.02 s 1m3 X 1000mg 1000g 1hr 1day =103.68kg/day

In this situation, the WWTP in question would be acted against, for contravening the law
at 60 mg/L, however, load wise, this WWTP is obviously contributing lower BOD load (at
103.68 kg/day) compared to the previous two examples. This is a conundrum.

The examples above only discuss a handful of pollution sources. In a river basin, there
are hundreds if not thousands, of pollution sources. If all these sources are considered,
the total load grows tremendously. As such, the need for a more holistic approach to
manage these loads, such as TMDL is justified.

TMDL, WLAs and LAs

From the discussions above, it is obvious that control of pollution load and water quality
preservation are intrinsically interrelated. The TMDL “formula” comprises the following
(US EPA, 1991):

TMDL= ∑ WLA+ ∑ LA+MOS (2)

where :

TMDL = Total Maximum Daily Load
WLA = Wasteload Allocation
LA = Load Allocation
MOS = Margin-of-safety

The wasteload allocation, WLA in Equation (2) refers to the point source pollution load,
whereas the load allocation, LA designates the non-point source pollution load. The
MOS is the margin-of-safety. In principle, the above equation denotes the total number
of pollution loads in a river basin, established to meet the designated water quality
standards or targets.

TMDL Development

TMDL development entails the gathering and acquisition of data such as :

i. Pollution load data (point and non-point sources);
ii. River water quality data;
iii. Long-term pollution load data;
iv. Long-term hydraulic data.

These data are then analyzed in TMDL development proceedings, to derive respective
WLAs and LAs. The elaborate procedures for TMDL development shall not be discussed
here, however, it should be noted that clear water quality objectives/targets are needed

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Pollution Load Control and TMDL Options for Malaysia

for its development. US EPA (2007) outlined methods to express TMDL as summarized
in Figure 5.3 below.

Figure 5.3: Process for Identifying Daily Load Expressions from Non-Daily Analysis
(US EPA, 2007)
133

OPTIONS FOR TMDL IMPLEMENTATION IN MALAYSIA

The DOE undertook a pilot study for TMDL implementation in Malaysia in 2018 at Sg.
Semenyih. The study ascertained pollution loads from sources tabulated in Tables 5.3
and Table 5.4. It was obvious that certain categories of point source pollution contribute
significant load for a particular pollutant, compared to others.

Sewage treatment plants (STPs) for BeOxaDm, SplTeP, scaonndtrirbeustteautrhaentshicgohnetsritbuNteH3th-Ne load
compared to other sources. In terms of most

significant portions, whereas O&G contribution from food courts were alarmingly high.

Using these information, targeted load reductions, to derive WLAs and LAs through

deployment of water modeling tools was done. In summary, certain categories of

pollution sources require more than 90% load reductions to achieve designated water

quality targets (DOE, 2018).

Table 5.3: Total Point Source Load for COD, BOD, NH3-N, TSS and O&G in Sg. Semenyih
(DOE, 2018)

SG SEMENYIH CATCHMENT LOADING (KG/DAY)

Point Source BOD COD NH3-N TSS O&G
Industrial
2.86 16 0.633 8.28 1.52

Sewage Treatment Plant 475 1940 487 639 110

Restaurant 80.2 225 0.142 47.4 26.5

Food Court 3.68 13.8 0.0278 2.69 139

Wet Market 6.01 16.3 0.0544 2.18 0.259

Fish Pond 1.5 7.33 0.0588 3.78 -

Livestock 0.509 1.82 0.0313 1.55 -

Carwash 6.04 20.7 - 28.7 0.512

Laundry Shops 6.44 24.1 0.0323 2.82 -

Total 582 2270 488 736 278

Another key finding from the study; for TMDL implementation to be viable in Malaysia,
state involvement is critical (DOE, 2018). This is not too dissimilar from TMDL
implementation in the US. Water resource, is at the end of the day, under state purview.

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Pollution Load Control and TMDL Options for Malaysia

Table 5.4: Pollution Loads by Landuse Type in Sg. Semenyih (DOE, 2018)

TONNES/YEAR

LAND USE EXISTING FUTURE

Forest COD BOD NH3-N TSS COD BOD NH3-N TSS
754 168 2.78 202 725 162 2.67 194
4,610
Industry 2,430 334 17.3 2,880 3,890 537 27.8 15,100
363
Residential 2,230 411 16.8 2,940 11,400 2,110 86.0 686
33,50
Infrastructure and 241 44.6 1.82 3,18 295 55 2.13 9,240
Utilities 20,500

Commercial 320 54.7 2.03 291 753 129 4.77 1,390

Institution and 3,310 564 21 3,010 3,680 629 5.79 55,400
Public Amenities

Transportation 1,410 665 - 8,760 1,490 702 -

Agriculture 3,540 549 21.2 45,800 1,590 246 9.50

Open Space, 781 171 2.17 2,740 396 87 1.10
Recreation or
Vacant Land

Total 15,000 2,960 85.1 66,900 24,200 4,660 140

In addition, pollution governance in Malaysia is also fragmented across multiple
jurisdictions, with several grey areas. For TMDL implementation to be effective, it is
important for all stakeholders to work towards common goals to reduce pollution load.
Thus, with state involvement, pollution control aspects will also be further empowered.
Through advocacy, awareness, and education, pollution load control goals can be
established. Some short and long-term goals towards TMDL implementation are as
follows.

Short Term Goals (within 1 – 5 years)

For TMDL to be workable in Malaysia, there needs to be clear, quantifiable and
measurable goals of water quality preservation.

i. This can be done by establishing water quality targets. These targets can be
represented visually, such as by portraying on map, as shown in Figure 5.4 below;

ii. These targets are developed by using existing NWQS river classes, which
correlate to beneficial uses. These targets are not only for TMDL and water quality
improvement, but also for water quality preservation; and

iii. These targets can then be correlated to TMDL, WLAs and LAs; where specific
loading thresholds are established.

135

Figure 5.4: Water Quality Targets
(DOE, 2018)

i. Such targets serve as a reference for all agencies involved in catchment
management to use in development planning;

ii. There must be a clear launching to mark the start of the TMDL program for
critical/selected river basins;

iii. The program launching should involve all stakeholders with a designated lead
agency to monitor the progress of the program; and

iv. Established loading thresholds can then be assigned to agencies and respective
stakeholders based on jurisdiction for execution. The progress of such loading
control initiatives can then be monitored via score card as shown in Table 5.5 for
River A.

Other short-term goals include utilizing available resources and mechanisms for loading
control and TMDL implementation, such as :

i. Ad-hoc, quasi-load control measures which can be implemented as part of
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) proceedings to control and mitigate
pollution by controlling loads from new development. Load impact studies can be
mandated in EIA proceedings. This requires a policy-based directive on the part of
the DOE for standardization;

ii. Integration of TMDL initiatives in Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)
initiatives and approaches;

iii. Nationwide engagement with empowered state water and environmental authorities
such as:

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Pollution Load Control and TMDL Options for Malaysia

» Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS)
» Kedah State Water Resources Board (LSANK)
» Terengganu Water Management Authority (LAUT)
» Badan Kawalselia Air Negeri Johor (BAKAJ)
» National Resources and Environment Board (NREB), Sarawak
» Environmental Protection Division (EPD), Sabah
» Other state Badan Kawalselia Air (BKSA)

iv. TMDL capacity and expertise building through coordination with National Water
Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) and Environment Institute of Malaysia
(EiMAS);

v. Execution of TMDL awareness campaigns at federal and state levels. This
constitutes advocating and briefing stakeholders on TMDL principles; and

vi. Cohesive TMDL studies. As outlined under the 12th Malaysia Plan, TMDL studies
can be conducted for strategic river basins in the country. These studies will
enable further propagation of the TMDL concept for subsequent implementation by
stakeholders.

TARGET Table 5.5: Example TMDL Scorecard for River A
CLASS III
Current 2,579
Load 149
2,430
Target WLA
94.2%
Reduction

Reduction
(%)

NO. AGENCY ITEM DESCRIPTION KPI TIMEFRAME PROGRESS
Agency NO. - < 2 years 20%

1 A (State To minimize new
Agency) a) sources that contribute

Agency BOD to River A
2 B (State
New sources must
Agency)
conduct carrying EIAs,
Written
b) capacity analysis to Notification, < 2 years 50%
derive WLA relative Licences

to Class III target (not

baseline)

To establish carrying Policy < 1 year 80%
a) capacity policy and paper

directive for River A;

137

NO. AGENCY ITEM DESCRIPTION KPI TIMEFRAME PROGRESS
NO.
Policy
To gazette and adopt paper < 1 year 70%
b) Class III carrying

capacity for River A.

3 Agency C a) To reduce BOD POME License < 2 years 30%
(DOE) load by > 90%

i. To promote POME Org. policy < 5 years 30%
reuse policy

ii. To steer adoption of Org. policy < 5 years 30%
polishing technology 100%
100%
To progressively EQMP < 5 years
b) monitor river water 50%

quality status 50%
100%
4 Agency D a) To monitor flow regime Hydraulic < 5 years 50%
Network

5 Local To coordinate with Org. policy < 1 year
Authority locals and establish
a) “citizen science”
monitoring programs;
local buy-in

To ensure no illegal Enforcement < 1 year
b) dumping and

discharges etc.

c) Erection of detterent - < 1 year
signages

6 Agency E Incentives for water < 1 year
a) reuse/recycling (eg. tax Org. policy

breaks)

Long-term Goals (> 5 years)

Long-term goals on the other hand, mainly constitutes the development of new, specific
regulatory procedures and regulations pertaining to TMDL. While amendments to EQA,
1974 can be done to inculcate TMDL regulations, execution may still need to be done
at the state level. This is similar to the US Clean Water Act (CWA) approach (MDEQ,
2021).

Alternatively, regulatory and execution can also be done purely at the state level,
supported by the federal resources. This may also be plausible in view of state water
supply interests.

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In any case, such legislations entail the identification of impaired water bodies,
establishment of water quality targets, plan for TMDL implementation and a licensing
framework (DOE, 2018).

Such short and long-term goals can be further expanded and refined, to be manifested
in a “National TMDL Blueprint” document for systematic implementation.

CONCLUSION

Development entails ever-increasing, new pollution loads and compliance to current
regulatory limits does not guarantee that a receiving water body will not become polluted.
This depends on the total amount of pollution load, as well as the WAC of the receiving
water body; what more if there are illegal pollution sources.

This is one of the reasons why the water quality of more and more rivers in the country
are becoming polluted. As such, it is imperative that load control strategies, such as
TMDL be implemented to not only improve the water quality of deteriorated rivers, but
also to preserve those which are still clean (Zainudin et al., 2019). This approach is in
line with Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, set up in
2015 by the United Nations which is intended to be achieved by 2030. 

REFERENCES

Cairns Jr, J, 1998.Assimilative capacity – the key to sustainable use of the planet. Journal of
Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery. 6 (4): 259–263. doi:10.1023/a:1009902127556.
ISSN 1386-1980

Chapra, S. C., Pelletier, G. and Tao, H, 2005. QUAL2K: A Modeling Framework for
Simulation River and Stream Water Quality. (Ver. 2.04). Athens, Georgia, USA: United
States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

Chuan-Ng., C.K. and Zainudin, Z, 2020. Perspective: Aquaculture Needs Clean Water,
But It Also Can Pollute Waters. Fishmail. Malaysian Fisheries Society. January – April
2020 (Vol. 28)

DOE, 2018. Study on The Development & Implementation of Total Maximum Daily Load
Sungai Semenyih Catchment. Department of Environment

DOE, 2018a. National Water Quality Standards. Environmental Quality Report 2018.
Putrajaya: Strategic Communications Division, Department of Environment Malaysia

Fan, C., Chen, K.-H., Huang, Y.-Z, 2021. Model-based carrying capacity investigation
and its application to total maximum daily load (TMDL) establishment for river water

139

quality management: A case study in Taiwan. Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume
291, 1 April 2021
Meals, D.W., & Richards, R.P, 2013. Pollutant Load Estimation for Water Quality
Monitoring Projects. Tech Notes 8, April 2013. Developed for U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency by Tetra Tech, Inc., Fairfax, VA, 21 p. Available online at : https://
www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-05/documents/tech_notes_8_dec_2013_load.pdf
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Office of Pollution Control Modeling
and TMDL Branch, 2021. Final Report: pH TMDL for Buttahatchee River Watershed
Ujang, Z. and Zainudin, Z, 2010. Keynote Paper: Water Sustainability: Between
Water Quality and Water Quality Modeling. Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM),
Proceedings, 12th Annual IEM Water Resources Colloquium. 2010(1), 1-11. Penerbit
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
US EPA, 1991. Guidance for Water Quality-Based Decisions: The TMDL Process. Office
of Water, Athens, Georgia, USA: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
US EPA, 2007. Options for the Expression of Daily Loads in TMDLs. Office of Wetlands,
Oceans & Watersheds, Washington, USA: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Zainudin, Z., Ying Ying., S.L., Li Ying, C, 2019. Water Quality Improvement and
Preservation through Pollution Load Control. Berita ENSEARCH. Dec 2019.

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AUTHOR

Ir. Dr. Zaki Zainudin is a renowned water quality and modeling
specialist, having led and played key roles in hundreds of water
quality and environmental studies for both private and government
sectors. Zaki is often a source of reference for many authorities on
surface water quality management; such as being an expert panelist
for the Department of Environment Malaysia (DOE, EIA, Water and
Marine Divisions) and is advisor to many prominent environmental
and engineering firms. He is a Professional Engineer with the Board
of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the Engineering Council,
UK and Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) with the Society for the Environment (SocEnv,
UK). He has conducted various workshops and talks on water quality and modeling
at both local and international venues. Zaki is also on the management committee of
the International Water Association (IWA), Watershed and River Basin Management
(W&RBM) Specialist Group. The above is just a glimpse of his credentials. His CV and
list of activities can be viewed at : http://www.facebook.com/zakizainudin.

Ts. Ir. Shazana binti Mohd Ibrahim is a Senior Environmental Control
Officer at the Department of Environment Malaysia (DOE). She
obtained her first degree in Chemical Engineering, from Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia. She then pursued her master’s degree in
Environmental Engineering and completed her studies in 2009 from
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. She started her career as a treatment
engineer at Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd. in 2009 and was
responsible for the overall management of sewage treatment plants.
She subsequently joined the Environment Institute of Malaysia (EiMAS), DOE in 2010,
where she further developed her expertise in industrial effluent treatment system design
and operation. Her job scope includes designing, planning, and executing technical
training courses related to water quality management for DOE officers, industrial
personnel, and government agencies. She is actively involved as an appointed individual/
expert panel for ElA projects, apart from providing technical inputs to various divisions in
DOE, which includes EiMAS, Enforcement Division and Water and Marine Division. She
is the first female officer in DOE certified by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) as
a professional engineer. She is currently serving the Strategic Communication Division,
DOE where her responsibilities include publication of the Environmental Quality Report
as stipulated under Section 3 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127). She is
also a Professional Technologist under the Malaysian Board of Technologists (MBOT).

141

gueWsetsh, ahvoewftoorgwoattlkenlighhotwlytoonbethgeoeoadrth
as its other creatures do.

- Barbara Ward

142 Kinabatangan River, Sabah.

Chapter 6

Sewage
Management in

Malaysia

SEWAGE MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA

Haniffa Hamid & Jamal Affendy Shahar
INTRODUCTION
Sewage is a mixture of human excreta (waste matter discharged from the body, especially
faeces and urine) plus all other ‘used water’ discharges from a typical habitable building
due to domestic activities such as toilet and wash basin usage, bathing waters, kitchen
& house washings, laundries and other normal household used water discharges.
Sewage does not include discharges from commercial activities, industrial wastewater,
agricultural and husbandry, street washings and surface runoffs. Figure 6.1 below
attempts to demonstrate the differences between sewage, wastewater and sanitation.

Figure 6.1: Illustration of Sewage, Wastewater and Sanitation
Sewage if not managed and treated properly will pose many public health issues and
also will be detrimental to the environment. Untreated and partially treated sewage
discharges can be a major threat to our water resources and also creates many potential
waterborne diseases, some of which is illustrated in Figure 6.2. A waterborne (or
foodborne) outbreak is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as when at

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Sewage Management in Malaysia

least two people contract similar illnesses after consuming the same water (or good)
and epidemiological analysis identifies the water (or food) as the origin of the illness.
Prevention of pollution from sewage sources is a prerequisite for a well-managed and
developed community, township and country.

Figure 6.2:Types of Waterborne Diseases Related to Poor Water and Sanitation Management
In the early days when population was low, sparsely dispersed and without many urban
centres, the sewage discharges were not seen or identified as a major threat and it
was suffice to provide households with basic latrine or toilet facility to address public
health issues. Today, Malaysia with a population over 32 million people and with many
urbanised centres, it remains critical for our country to continuasly monitor and manage
all sewage discharges nationwide in the effort to protect public health, preserve our
water resources i.e. rivers, lakes and beaches; and to conserve the wellbeing of our
environment and its surroundings. Figure 6.3 demonstrates the evolution of sewerage
development in Malaysia since Independence.
While the coverage of sanitation and sewerage provision nationwide has increased
dramatically to over 96% since our Country’s independence back in 1957, the actual
environmental impacts and improvements are significantly still very much in progress.
In the late 1980s, sewage was identified as the single major source of pollution in rivers
throughout our country, particularly in urban areas. Sewerage management then was
under the purview of local authorities and there were 143 of them back then. Many of
these authorities lacked appropriate resources i.e. manpower, budget and technical
expertise to resolve local sewerage issues.

145

SEWERAGE EVOLUTION IN MALAYSIA

!

Early Days in & & & 1980-s 1990-s 2000 2015 &
Malaya 1950-s 1960-s 1970-s Year

Primary/Primi�ve Treatment Par�al/Full Secondary Treatment Ter�ary Treatment
Address Public Health Address River Pollu�on Address Environment SDG

The sewerage systems in Malaysia has improved significantly within a span of over 5 decades

Figure 6.3: Evolution of Sewerage Development in Malaysia

The Department of Environment (DOE) had introduced three important regulations
to control water pollution from discharges of palm oil mills, natural rubber processing
factory as well as sewage and other manufacturing industrial effluent namely

i. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations 1977;
ii. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Raw Natural Rubber) Regulations

1978; and
iii. Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 1979.

These regulations especially on sewage were derived due to the emerging trend of
water quality degradation recorded through the river water quality monitoring conducted
by DOE since 1978 as well as reported findings from studies done on that time. Even
though, a specific regulation on sewage control had come into force on 1st January 1979,
sewage was not effectively enforced as the sewage component was overshadowed by
industrial effluent where the sewage was even given an interpretation as ‘effluent’ under
Regulation 2, EQ(SIE)R 1979.

This situation arised due to the DOE’s focus in ensuring compliance among the
increasing number of industries. Apart from that, sanitation management in Malaysia,
at that time, was not developed in tandem with the increasing number of population. It
was reported in Environmental Quality Report (EQR) 1979 that only 11.9% or 333,000

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Sewage Management in Malaysia

of the urban population used flush toilet connected to community water-borne sewerage
system, 44.3% used flush toilets connected to septic tanks, 34.7% used ‘bucket system’
and the remaining population did not have any facility. Hence, it was pragmatic to tie it up
with other sources of pollution discharge in order to make it legally enforceable.

After many extensive studies, the Government took a bold decision to federalise the
sewerage services through a Cabinet Decision followed by passing of a new Law
in Parliament called the Sewerage Services Act 1993 (Act 508). Through this new
legislation, a federal department known as the Sewerage Services Department headed
by a Director General (The Regulator) was established to lead and drive sewerage
management in the Country. Also through the provisions of this law, the sewerage
services was privatised to the private sector (Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd) via
a 28-year Concession Agreement beginning 1994. Since then, Malaysia witnessed a
quantum leap in the overall improvement and management in the sewerage sector
which today many other developing countries aspire to achieve. This Act 508was later
repealed and replaced by the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655) with the long
term vision to manage both water supply and sewerage services holistically.

However, the sad part is that now, 3 decades after the federalization, sewage still
remains as one of the major contributors of pollution in Malaysian rivers (as quoted by
recent DOE Annual Reports). As of year 2020, sewage is still identified as one of the main
sources of pollution affecting the quality of our water bodies. There is a serious need to
relook at current sewerage management, development plans and funding requirements.
Despite the existence of adequate laws, rules, regulations and organizational structures
which are overseen by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) established
since the year 2007, pollution due to sewage remains unresolved. There must be a clear
plan and timeline to resolve this long outstanding matter in order to eliminate all possible
pollution derived from sewage sources. This must not take too long a time to achieve and
there must be adequate economic plus environmental tools and enablers to realize this
vision before 2040.

KEY IMPORTANT DEFINITION

There are many technical jargons used in sewage management. Sometimes these
definitions differ from place to place. For Malaysia, the key ones are listed below in
simplified laymen language (without being too technical and legalistic) for ease of
common understandings by all levels of stakeholders.

i. Sewage; refers to used water discharged from habitable buildings (grey water or
sullage) including human excreta (black water);

ii. Sewerage; is the infrastructure that conveys sewage to a specific point for further
treatment;

iii. Sewerage System; is a combination of infrastructure mainly consisting of sewer

147

pipes, pumping stations and treatment plant to handle sewage safely. It may also
be in the form of an on-site system as well;
iv. Sewerage Catchment; is a defined area of coverage where the sewage is collected,
mostly based on natural landscape of the localised water catchment;
v. Sludge; is the final settled solids (i.e. both organics and inorganics) from the process
of separation of water and solids in the process of sewage treatment;
vi. Septage; is the final contents (both solids and liquid excrement and other waste
material) that is usually stored in anaerobic conditions and removed from septic
tanks;
vii. Population Equivalent; is a measurement of sewage load contribution from a specific
area, either a building, development or catchment converted to an equivalent
population;
viii. Sewer Pipes; are the conduits used to convey sewage, mostly by gravity;
ix. Force Mains; is similar to sewer pipes but are conduits transferring sewage via
pumping;
x. Manholes; a series of small covered opening in a sewerage system allowing entry
for inspection or maintenance purposes;
xi. Pumping Stations; are buildings that hold pumps to pump sewage from one point
to another;
xii. Septic Tanks; are simple on-site sewage holding tanks that partially treats sewage
anaerobically;
xiii. Sewage Treatment Plants; are a series of unit processes that are designed to treat
sewage;
xiv. Regional STPs; are plants designed to cover a large regional catchments area for
sewage treatment in accordance to Sewerage Catchment plans. Typical sizes are
above 50,000PE, sometimes also called Centralized STPs;
xv. Multipoint STPs; are plants designed to cover small local catchments for sewage
treatment. Typically, sizes are below 20,000PE but could also stretch-up to
50,000PE. Smallest can even be up to 100PE;
xvi. Centralised Sludge Treatment Facilities; is a plant specifically designed to treat all
sludge collected from a defined area in accordance to good practices and standards
for environmental sustainability; and
xvii. Discharge Standards; are a series of effluent standards permissible for discharges
to the open environment usually specified by local regulators via rules and
regulations. For sewage discharges, the key measured limits are for BOD5, COD,
SS, NH3-N, NO3-N, phosphorous, O&G, pH and temperature. Odour and noise
levels are usually measured as causing a nuisance to the local community and the
environment.

LAWS RELATED TO SEWAGE

In the early days, sewage was monitored and controlled under the local Sanitary Boards.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Sanitary Board was first commissioned in 1890 and took charge

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CHAPTER 6
Sewage Management in Malaysia

of local cleanliness and public health issues. After independence in 1957, the prominent
laws governing sewage control were covered under the Local Government Act, Street
Drainage and Building Act, Town & Country Planning Acts and also the Environmental
Quality Act together with its prescribed Regulations, Rules, By-laws, Guidelines and
Directives. A snapshot of some local laws related to sewage management in Malaysia
are listed as follows:-

i. Sanitary Board 1890 – 1914;
ii. Municipal Ordinance (CAP 133) 1913;
iii. Water Act 1920;
iv. Sanitary Board Enactment (Cap 137) – Town Board Enactments 1930;
v. Federal Constitution 1957;
vi. Land Conservation Act 1960;
vii. National Land Code 1960;
viii. Environmental Quality Act 1974;
ix. Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974;
x. Local Government Act 1976;
xi. Town and Country Planning Act 1976;
xii. Factories and Machinery Act 1989;
xiii. Sewerage Services Act 1993;
xiv. Water Services Commission Act 2006;
xv. Water Services Industry Act 2006;
xvi. State Water Resources Enactments (varies from state to state);
xvii. Forest Enactment (varies from state to state);
xviii. Local Government Ordinance 1961 (Sabah);
xix. Water Supply Ordinance 1961 (Sabah);
xx. Sabah Land Ordinance 1930/1965;
xxi. Environmental Protection Enactment 2002 (Sabah);
xxii. Sewerage Services Enactment 2017 (Sabah);
xxiii. Natural Resource & Environment Ordinance 1993 (Sarawak);
xxiv. Sarawak River Ordinance 1993;
xxv. Local Authorities Ordinance 1996 (Sarawak); and
xxvi. Sewerage Systems and Services Ordinance 2005 (Sarawak).

From the above list, it is clearly apparent that there has been sufficient legal frameworks
to govern and control sanitation practices in the country. Figure 6.4 below demonstrates
the status of sanitation coverage around the globe. Because of the above legal
frameworks, comparatively Malaysia has done well and is at par with many developed
countries. Today sanitation coverage in the country is over 96 percent. However, the
quality of effluent discharged to the environment from all types of sanitation system
still require great improvements. Also, while sewage pollution is considered as an old
problem which developed nations have already managed effectively, missing all too
often here are the resources to come up with practical solutions within the necessary

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