Final Together, Protecting the Enviroment

social-political, administrative and infrastructure to support these solutions. Community
awareness and inclusiveness is also required to address this long pending problem. The
fact remains, many Malaysian rivers continue to be infacted by sewage pollution.

The access to improved SANITATION in Malaysia is at
par with developed countries such as USA, Canada,

Japan, Australia and the European countries.

Source: UNICEF and WHO 2015

Figure 6.4: Worldwide Scenario on Sanitation Coverage

The primary federal legislative instrument governing efforts to improve and maintain
water quality in Malaysia is the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127). The EQA
is considered as the most comprehensive legislation that deals with environmental
protection and pollution control in the country. Section 25 of the EQA prohibits any
person to discharge or deposit of any environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants
or wastes in contravention of standards specified by the Minister responsible for
the environment into Malaysian inland waters without a license. As to sewage, such
standards are set in the Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009 gazetted on
12th October 2009 replacing the Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents)
Regulations 1979.

This Regulation is applicable to any premises which discharge sewage into any inland
waters or Malaysian waters, except for housing or commercial development with a
population equivalent (PE) of less than 150. The permissible discharge limits differ
between Standard A catchment (discharges above water intake points) and Standard B
catchment (discharges below water intake points) as depicted in Figure 6.5. Standard
A catchments are much more stringent as the water intake points need to be protected
to enable extraction of water for potable water supply purposes. Any discharge of
sewage into any inland waters or Malaysian waters requires prior written notification to
the Director General of Environmental Quality. Sewage discharged should not contain
substances in concentration greater than the limits set in the Second Schedule of the

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2009 Regulations. Among the parameters included in the standards are temperature, pH

vaalsloues,eBt dOifDfe5,reCnOt lDim, istsusfoprennedwedansdoloidlds,soeiwl aangde grease as well as NH3-N. The standards
treatment systems for a limited timeframe

as shown in Figure 6.6.

Figure 6.5: Standard A and Standard B Catchment in reference to Water Intake Points

In general, the standards for the new sewage treatment systems are stricter in terms
of concentration limit and number of parameters regulated. Furthermore, the standards
for discharges into inland waters within catchment areas are more stringent compared
to releases into any other inland waters or Malaysian waters. Nevertheless, an owner
or occupier of premises may apply for a license to contravene the acceptable conditions
of sewage discharge with valid reasoning for a short period of time. Such application,
however, must be accompanied by a report on sewage characterization and a license
fee. Information on point of discharge or any changes made subsequently must
also so be notified to the Director General of the DOE. The 2009 Regulations also
require premise owners or occupiers to monitor the concentration of certain specified
parameters including BOD, SS, and NH3-N. They must maintain a record of the sewage
discharge, which should be submitted to the DG on monthly basis. In addition, they are
also required to maintain records of the operation and to conduct maintenance and
performance monitoring of the sewage treatment system. All these records must be
made available for inspection by any authorized officer appointed by the DG.

151

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (SEWAGE) REGULATIONS 2009
– Acceptable Conditions of Sewage Discharge

Temp. pH BOD COD SS NH3N NO3N P O&G
(°C)

OLD STANDARD

Standard A 40 6 – 9 20 50 50 n/a n/a n/a n/d

Standard B 40 5.5 - 9 50 100 100 n/a n/a n/a 10

NEW STANDARD

CATEGORY 1 NEW SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM
(RIVER)

Standard A 40 6 - 9 20 120 50 10 20 n/a 5

Standard B 40 5.5 - 9 50 200 100 20 50 n/a 10

CATEGORY 1 NEW SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM
(LAKE)

Standard A 40 6 - 9 20 120 50 5 10 5 5

Standard B 40 5.5 - 9 50 200 100 5 10 10 10

CATEGORY 2 EXISTING SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM (APPROVED AFTER
JANUARY 1999)

Standard A n/a n/a 20 120 50 50 n/a n/a 20

Standard B n/a n/a 50 200 100 50 n/a n/a 20

CATEGORY 3 EXISTING SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM (APPROVED BEFORE
JANUARY 1999)

- CST n/a n/a 200 n/a 180 n/a n/a n/a n/a

- IT n/a n/a 175 n/a 150 100 n/a n/a n/a

- OP n/a n/a 120 360 150 70 n/a n/a n/a

- AL n/a n/a 100 300 120 80 n/a n/a n/a

- MP (Standard A) n/a n/a 60 180 100 60 n/a n/a 20

- MP (Standard B) n/a n/a 60 240 120 60 n/a n/a 20

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (SEWAGE) REGULATIONS 2009

Category 1 – STP which were approved after the New Environmental Quality Regulations
came into force i.e. (10 December 2009)
Category 2 – STP which were approved after the Guidelines for Developers: Sewerage
Treatment Vol. IV were enforce on January 1999
Category 3 – STP which were approved before 1 January 1999

Figure 6.6: Permissible Sewage Discharge Limits for Malaysia

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The 2009 Regulations also require the operations of sewage treatment system to be
undertaken and maintained in accordance with sound engineering practice and ensure
that all components of the sewage treatment system are in good working condition. Any
operation of a sewage treatment system must also be supervised by a competent person,
certified by the DG, at all times. Any person who contravenes any of the aforementioned
requirements, can be liable to a maximum penalty of a fine up to RM100,000 and
imprisonment up to 5 years and to a further fine not exceeding RM1,000 a day for every
day that the offence is continued after notification of such offence has been served upon
him.

In order to address sewage pollution in Malaysian rivers, several aspects of the EQA and
its implementation need to be improved. However, this may require amendment of the
EQA. For instance, the diffused non-point sewage pollution from so many individual on-
site facilities below 150 population equivalent need to be urgently addressed. Before the
regulators can consider river loading capacity in curbing sewage pollution, and perhaps all
other pollutants, sewage from nonpoint sources pollution need to be regulated uniformly
through the EQA. The law will also need to stipulate the method used to measure the
accommodating carrying capacity of a water source. Such a big legislative step will need
urgent but careful consideration, especially in the light of technologies now available to
measure and monitor loading capacity of different water sources. Besides that, the large
number of small scale sewage treatment plants under various private operators also
hampers enforcement. DOE has recently encouraged self-reporting whereby premises
need to analyse and report the quality of their discharged effluent periodically to the
DOE. Premises are also required to conduct performance monitoring of its sewage
system processes and report to DOE. With regard to the public civil responsibility, there
still exist large percentage of individual owners and tenants who are unwilling to seek
periodic emptying of their septic tanks and other similar on-site systems, and only ask
for service when their septic tanks start to give problems. The general public need to be
educated about sewage pollution and how it affects the quality of clean water, human
health and the ecosystems.

In summary, the current incomprehensive pollution control law, ineffective implementation
of the law at various levels, the use of non-sustainable technology in sewage treatment,
poor maintenance and the lack of public awareness are the main factors that can be
associated with sewage pollution in Malaysia.

153

POLLUTION FROM SEWAGE SOURCES

Figure 6.7: River Water Quality Trend in Malaysia from 1990 to 2019
Figure 6.7 above shows the river water quality trend over 3 decades (from 1990 to
2019). From 1990 to 2004, the reported figure is in numbers of river basins, while from
2005 to 2019, it is based on number of rivers being monitored. Based on this figure,
there has been significant improvements in Malaysian river water quality since 1997
(corresponding to when sewerage services started to be managed at federal level).
The number of clean rivers increased from 28% (1993) to 58% (2008). However, the
number of clean rivers showed little rising trend from 58% (2008) to 61% (2019). The
number of slightly polluted rivers showed decreasing trend from 2000 onwards, but
slightly increased from 2007 onwards. Whereas, the number of polluted rivers remained
consistent between 6-13%, except for a slight jump in year 1997 and 2005.
In the year 2019, the number of clean rivers increased, and for polluted and slightly
polluted rivers, it showed decreasing trend. The number of clean rivers decreased and
slightly polluted rivers increased cumulatively from 2008–2018, partly contributed by the
stoppage of scheduled septic tanks desludging carried out by IWK (national sewerage
concessioner), and also due to non-full attention given to manage the Communal
Septic Tank (CST) system pursuant to the enforcement of Water Services Industry Act
(WSIA) laws effective from 1st January 2008. Under the provisions in the new WSIA, the
responsibility for desludging or emptying the septic tanks (both individual and communal)
were transferred to the septic tank owners themselves. This had eventually caused a
major decrease in demand for septic tanks desludging services.

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Figure 6.8: River Pollution Challenges in Malaysia
Based on the EQR 2019 data in terms of the point source pollution loadings, as
illustrated in Figure 6.8 above, sewage contributes the highest loadings i.e. 51% BOD,
29% SS and 80% NH3-N. However, the list of pollution sources as reported in EQR is not
comprehensive as there are many other pollution sources not listed in the EQR report,
especially activities that are not controlled under Environmental Quality Act, 1974 such as:
i. Development and construction activities that are not subjected to EIA (Environmental

Impact Assessment) approval;
ii. Agricultural activities including animal husbandry;
iii. Solid waste management and disposal especially illegal dumpsites;
iv. Illegal and Small Medium Industries (SMIs); and
v. Sullage which originates from commercial activities (restaurants, food court, car

wash, workshop) and household or domestic (kitchen, bathing, washing) from illegal
house extension.
PRESENT STATUS AND PRACTICES
This section provides a brief snapshot of the current level of sewerage services
management and coverage in Malaysia. For ease of understanding, its divided into two
parts namely Peninsula (West) Malaysia and East Malaysia, basically to differentiate
based on the legal provisions, governance and administrative differences, plus status
of sewage management. Basically there are 3 main types of sewerage systems in the
country as shown in Figure 6.9 below i.e (i) connected sewerage system; (ii) septic tank
system; and (iii) primitive system.

155

TYPES OF SEWERAGE SYSTEMS

Connected To Sewage Treatment Plant Individual Septic Tank

$

Figure 6.9: Three Major Types of Sewerage System in Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia)

In Peninsular Malaysia, sewage is currently governed by two key legislation, namely
Water Services Industry Act (WSIA 2006) and the Environmental Quality Act (EQA)
1974. Both the laws are administered under the Ministry of Environment and Water.
SPAN (National Water Services Commission) is the sole regulator to control and manage
sewerage services.

Figure 6.10: Map of Peninsula Malaysia
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Sewerage services which was earlier under the jurisdiction of the respective Local
Authorities was federalized and privatized at a National level. The Government of
Malaysia signed a 28- years concession agreement with Indah Water Konsortium
Sdn Bhd (IWK) on 9 December 1993 and this national sewerage concessioner was
entrusted to plan, design, construct, commission, operate and maintain sewerage
systems nationwide, including the emptying of septic tanks. In return, IWK is allowed
to collect sewerage charges which are regulated by the Federal Government. The
concession covered specific targets to be achieved by IWK and took effect from 2 April
1994. The concession was further revised and extended to 31 December 2034 with
some amendments, the key ones being restricted to operations and maintenance of
public sewerage systems, major capital works to be undertaken by the government, IWK
allowed to do ancillary businesses such as water recycling, zero waste initiatives, and
other business optimization efforts to ensure the long term sustainability of sewerage
services. IWK is currently wholly owned by the Federal Government via Minister of
Finance Incorporated and functions in accordance to Registrar of Companies governance
as a corporate entity. IWK is highly regulated by SPAN and the discharge qualities are
closely monitored by the Department of Environment, both at Federal and State levels.

Today, IWK manages bulk of the public sewerage systems in Peninsular Malaysia and
within the three Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) covering all
its Local Authority areas (102 of them). IWK manages over seven thousand sewage
treatment plants including more than a thousand associated network pumping stations,
sludge facilities and over 20,000km of sewer pipelines within its operational area,
providing services to close to 26 million population equivalent. Almost all of IWK
managed sewage treatment plants comply with the DOE stipulated discharge limits with
occasionally less than 5 percent (at any one time) not being able to comply for short
periods of time due to valid reasons such as vandalism, power supply failure, illegal
discharges, over loadings, equipment malfunction, etc.

Overall, IWK plants discharge on average 40 percent below the permissible discharge
limits. This explains the massive improvement on river water quality from 1997 onwards.
However, IWK does not manage private sewerage systems (this should be licensed
and monitored by SPAN) and areas outside the local authority boundary and jurisdiction.
Most rural areas within Peninsular are still managed under the Ministry of Health driven
program called BAKAS (Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Unit). Where else,
the desludging (or emptying) of the septic tanks are done by IWK only on a demand
basis. The onus currently is on the property owners (over one million) to get their
individual or communal septic tank desludged regularly. Many refused to do so until they
face problems with their septic tanks, and also largely many are also still ignorant on the
need to periodically desludge their septic tanks. As a result, only up to 5 percent of the
septic tanks in Peninsular gets desludged on an annual basis and the balance are major
contributor to the current high sewage loads in our rivers. In addition, there are also close
to one million other insanitary on-site sewage facilities such as pour flush, overhang and
pit latrines that literally contribute sewage pollution loadings directly to both water and
land environments. Apart from that, most properties in Peninsular are not fully connected
to sewerage systems (either legal or illegally), hence grey water (or sullage) are directly

157

discharged to the roadside drains and rivers. All these are major contributors to sewage
loadings in our waterways. While legislation is adequate, the planning and enforcement
of the law still remains as a weak point for Peninsular Malaysia.

Sabah & Sarawak

Both Sabah and Sarawak are not subjected to WSIA 2006. They have their local
enactments and ordinances such as the Sabah Sewerage Services Enactment 2017, and
the Sarawak Sewerage Systems and Services Ordinance 2005. Both states still manage
sewerage based on district and local authority boundaries and are led by their respective
State Sewerage Departments. The former Federal Sewerage Services Act 1993 (Act
508) covers duties of the authority responsible for the provision of wastewater treatment
services, requirements and approval of private and public sewerage systems, licensing,
charges, collection of charges and penalties. However, because sewerage services
are included in the Concurrent List in the Ninth Schedule to the Federal Constitution,
this Act cannot be applied in both Sabah and Sarawak. Wastewater treatment services
remain the responsibility of both these States independently. The Federal Environmental
Quality Act, 1974 (Act 127), although not specific on wastewater treatment services, has
means to manage wastewater by regulating water pollution. This is further enhanced by
the inclusion of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as a prescribed activity under
the Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment)
Order, 1987 which requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to be
prepared prior to construction of a WWTP.

Sabah

In Sabah, the management of wastewater treatment services mostly lies within
the local authorities based on the provision of the Local Government Order 1961
and its by-laws. The State Conservation of Environment Enactment (1996),
which amongst others deals with prohibiting or regulating any activity that may
have significant environmental impact on inland waters, can be used as a tool to
manage wastewater in the State. Due to the environmental problems caused by
the discharge of untreated wastewater, a survey of wastewater treatment systems,
particularly wastewater treatment plants, applied in Sabah has been undertaken
as one of the project outputs under the State’s Environmental Conservation
Department – Capacity Building (ECD-CAB) project. As a part of the overall project,
this survey was conducted in order to map out the status of wastewater treatment
in Sabah. The survey reveals a need for improved planning, management and
regulation of operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment systems. The
Capacity Building project of the ECD is supported by the Danish Cooperation for
Environmental Development (DANCED) and is a collaboration effort between the
Malaysian and Danish governments.

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Figure 6.11: Map of the State of Sabah and its Administrative Districts
The wastewater treatment systems applied in Sabah can be grouped as follows:
» Common wastewater treatment system
» Individual wastewater treatment system (housing estates & apartments)
» Individual septic tanks
» Sludge treatment.
a. Common Wastewater Treatment System
In the common wastewater treatment system, wastewater from buildings and
houses is collected via a common sewerage line. The collected wastewater is
channeled into a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The WWTP used in Sabah
to treat the wastewater from the common wastewater system are simple oxidation
ponds. Oxidation ponds have been used because these ponds accommodate a
high number of populations, normally more than 5,000, adopts a simple biological
treatment system that requires minimum maintenance, and are cheap to construct
compared to other WWTP systems. The larger cities in Sabah like Kota Kinabalu,
Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Keningau use the common wastewater collection
and treatment system for their town centre and main residential areas. In Tawau,
the common wastewater collection and treatment system covers only part of the
western urban areas. In some areas, the collected wastewater is channelled
directly into rivers and seas. Papar, Semporna, Kudat, Tawau town centre and part
of Sandakan are utilising this direct discharge system for their downtown areas.
b. Individual Wastewater Treatment System
Some housing estates that are not connected to the common wastewater treatment
system or common sewer lines have constructed their own WWTP that collects
and treats wastewater within the housing estates. The individual WWTPs used in

159

Sabah undertake a mechanical treatment of the wastewater. In Sabah the most
commonly used individual WWTP system used is Extended Aeration, but also
systems such as the Bio-Filters, Rotating Biological Contractor (RBC), Oxidation
Ditch and Imhoff tanks are used. Individual WWTPs for housing estates and
apartments/condominium blocks are constructed by the developers. Individual
WWTPs for housing estates shall 1 year after construction be handed over to be
maintained by the respective Local Authorities. Most apartment and condominium
block developments, however, have their own management corporation to manage
the collection and treatment of wastewater.

c. Individual Septic Tanks
Individual holding or septic tanks are being used mainly in the older and rural
residential areas. In this treatment system, solids in the wastewater settle to the
bottom of the septic tank to form sludge leaving the fluid wastewater to overflow into
drains. In order to function as treatment system, septic tanks have to be desludged
regularly to prevent excessive build-up in the tank, over flow, blockages and loss of
the tank capacity. Individual septic tanks are maintained by the respective owners.
Desludging of the tanks can be carried out by local authorities or private contractors
as and when required by the owner. The sludge is then normally disposed off into
the common wastewater treatment plants.

d. Sludge
Sludge is the solids that settle at the bottom of septic tanks or treatment ponds.
Sludge can be dried by pressing, sunning or burning and can then be processed
into manure. However, these processes are not carried out in Sabah due to the
absence of sludge treatment plants.

There are 24 administrative districts in Sabah, but only 22 local authorities, because
Pitas and Kota Marudu share the same local authority while Tongod, a newly-
formed district, has yet to have its own local authority. The 22 local authorities
in Sabah can be divided into the following four types: District Councils covering
18 local authorities in Sabah, City Hall covering Kota Kinabalu, Municipal Councils
covering Tawau and Sandakan and Town Board covering Kudat.

Most local authorities have, however, due to lack of manpower, skills and resources,
made agreements with JKR concerning the operation and maintenance of sewerage
system. As such, JKR plays an important role in providing and operating common
wastewater treatment systems in Sabah. The local authorities are responsible for
financing construction of common wastewater treatment systems and for operation
and maintenance of individual wastewater treatment systems. The local authorities
have two main sources of funds; one from the State budget and the other through
collection of rates. Since local authorities are under the State Ministry of Local
Government and Housing (MLGH), MLGH can allocate budget to local authorities
from the State budget. However, for DBKK, since it is under the supervision of the
Chief Minister of Sabah, its budget comes from the State Budget through the Chief
Ministers Department. The Gazetting Rating Order states that between 2% and

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7% of the collectable rates should be allocated towards sewerage and treatment
services. In districts where JKR constructs, operates and maintain the common
wastewater treatment system, JKR can allocate funds via the Federal Budget.
However, these funds cannot officially be used for operation and maintenance,
since it is Federal policy that WWTP is a privatised area, thus not eligible for
Federal funding. Construction of the individual wastewater treatment systems are
financed by the developers, while budgets for operation and maintenance of these
come from the local authorities. The State Government had recently approved the
establishment of the Sabah Sewerage Service Department, a single entity under
the Ministry of Infrastructure Development aimed at reinforcing the State’s sewerage
management and planning. Lots of planning and improvement works are necessary
in Sabah to manage all sewage discharges in the State.
Sarawak
The Sarawak Sewerage Services Department was set up in 2007 under the Sarawak
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (later placed under the Sarawak
Ministry of Resources Planning and Environment, and now under Sarawak Ministry
of Local Government and Housing) with the objective of providing an integrated
wastewater management system for the State.

Figure 6.12: Map of State of Sarawak and its Administrative Districts
Existing sewerage systems are mostly on individual septic tanks and small scale
local on-site sewage treatment facilities. Grey water, oil and grease are not collected
or treated. Very small percentage (approximately only 10 percent) are connected
to centralised sewerage system – mostly in Kuching and Bintulu town only. The
state’s Sewerage Systems and Service Ordinance 2005 applies only to municipal
councils and city administration boundaries (covering approximately 50% of State

161

population). Apart from Kuching and Bintulu, centralised septic sludge treatment
plants are set up in Matang, Sibu and Miri to cover priority towns such as Sarikei,
Bintangor, Sri Aman, Betong, Kapit and Limbang. Desluging are still done by the
respective local authorities. Capital expenditure is borne by the State Government,
while operating expenditure is covered via User Charges. Lots of work are still
necessary in Sarawak to address all sources of sewage discharges to land and water.
While sewage may not be an overall major pollution issue in both Sabah and Sarawak
due to the low population density, sparse development and low number of urban
centres, there is still major sewerage services improvements required to address all
sewage discharges holistically. The separation of powers between the policy makers,
regulators and operators is crucial to ensure good governance in the overall sewerage
management in both these states.

SEWAGE ISSUES AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
The sources of sewage pollution in Malaysia can be divided into two major components
as follow:
i. IWK sources such as. effluent from public STPs maintained by IWK, and
ii. Non-IWK sources such as effluent from private STPs including Sabah & Sarawak;

effluent from septic tanks (individual septic tanks and communal septic tanks);
sewage discharges from primitive system (pour flush, pit & overhang latrines, etc);
direct discharge of raw sewage including from uncontrolled & squatters areas; and
abundance of sullage discharges especially from domestic and commercial areas.

Figure 6.13: Sources of Sewage Discharges in Malaysia
Due to incomplete pollution sources inventory, obviously sewage sources from public
STPs is conceived to be the major contributor to pollution load into the rivers based on
number of sources. The irony is that, there are many more sewage pollution sources

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which need to be inventoried, monitored and addressed holistically to control further
deterioration in our river water quality as follows:

i. Public STPs - Currently there are over 7000 public STPs maintained by IWK. These
plants are of varying sizes and technologies. They range from as small as less than
1000 PE to slightly over 1mil PE. Meaning that there are 7000 points of discharges
throughout the Peninsula Malaysia. These are discharges from over 26mil PE.
There are also many public STPs operated by various parties in Sabah & Sarawak.
Irrespective of STP size and the receiving water body’s assimilative capacity, these
STPs are required to discharge to only 2 prescribed standards namely Standard A
& B with respect to the EQA Regulations. This need to be reviewed not only based
on environmental benefits, but also from the practicality and sustainable economics.

ii. Private STPs - Currently it is estimated that there are more than 5,000 private STPs
in Peninsular Malaysia alone. There are many more in Sabah & Sarawak. These
are operated by various parties including sole proprietor, companies, agencies,
developers and government (schools, hospitals, army camps, police, etc). In
accordance to WSIA and State laws, these private STPs need to be operated by a
licensed operator. It is understood that currently less than 30% are licensed and the
rest are still in the process of being verified, to be licensed and operated by certified
operators. Loadings from these private STPs are yet to be accounted fully.

iii. Septic Tanks - There are an estimated more than 1.5 million individual septic tanks
and over 5000 communal septic tanks nationwide. These are on-site systems with
only primary treatment via anaerobic process and sedimentation. If not continuously
desludged, the contents of the septic tank will overflow to the nearby drainage
systems and collectively pollute the water bodies. This is considered to be a non-
point source as it occurs in a diffused manner within the catchment. These facilities
need to be mapped, monitored and desludged regularly based on a periodic
schedule. Currently, less than 5% of these septic tanks are desludged annually.
Huge sewage loads to the environment are contributed by these septic tanks.

iv. Primitive Systems - There are estimated one million primitives systems such as
pour flush, pit latrines and overhang toilets nationwide. They are predominately
found in river reserves, squatter areas, construction sites, villages and rural areas.
These are direct diffused source of sewage polluters ie non-point source. These
discharges are another major source of sewage pollution to land and water.

v. Sullage or Grey Water - Sullage or grey water discharges (related to domestic
activities such as bathing, washing and kitchen activities, etc) is a major source
of sewage related pollutant directly discharged into roadside drains from housing,
commercial, government and industrial premises. It can be said that most (up to
70%) of the places/properties in the country has this problem – either legal or illegal.
This definitely requires urgent attention to curb the never ending sewage related
source of pollution in our rivers.

163

vi. Fat, Oil & Grease - Fat, oil & grease (F.O.G.) is another major source of sewage
discharge into our waterways. Either it escapes through the sewer system and
treatment plants or it is discharged directly to the nearby drains. These are mainly
excessive FOG from kitchens with commercial activities such as catering, eateries,
fast food shops, malls and the likes. The sewer system is not designed to take this
excess FOG. Many a time, this FOG creates blockages in the sewerage systems
and also impacts the sewage treatment plants. By law, this need to be intercepted
via FOG traps and disposed-off safely by the respective premise owners. There are
adequate provisions in the local authority and local government regulations. They
also are tied to licencing conditions. The main problem here is again the enforcement
and audits at the local level.

In summary, all the above sources of sewage discharges collectively contributes major
pollution loadings to the land and water, hence is a major public health and environmental
threat that needs to be holistically addressed.

SEWAGE CHALLENGES YET TO BE RESOLVED

Although much has been done over the last two decades and lots of improvements have
taken place in Peninsular, Sabah & Sarawak – sewage pollution issues in our waterways
remain unresolved. This could be collectively addressed through SPAN under WSIA,
and also the leading regulators in Sabah/Sarawak via their local holistic planning and
legal frameworks. Amongst the challenges for comprehensive resolution of sewage
issues includes;
i. Holistic approach to manage all sewage related discharges;
ii. Clear action plans and targets for all areas;
iii. Eradication of all unsanitary basic sewerage facilities for all areas;
iv. Scheduled emptying of individual septic tanks and other on-site systems;
v. Upgrading of all underperforming sewage treatment facilities;
vi. Cease proliferation of too many small sewerage facilities nationwide;
vii. Reduction of sewage discharge points and utilise Nature Based Solutions;
viii. Regulating and standardization of all sewerage facilities tied withAsset Management;
ix. Continuous river pollution monitoring from diffused sewage sources;
x. Demarcation of defined sewerage service areas for one-stop sewerage resolutions;
xi. Alternative funding, investments and cost recovery mechanisms;
xii. Integration of new and old sewerage facilities;
xiii. Training, skill enhancement and capacity development; and
xiv. Complete inventory of all sewage facilities, discharge points and loading monitoring.

All the above can only be achieved with clear policy setting for sewerage and sewage
discharges in all areas, strong regulatory plan and targets, and skilled industry drivers to
achieve the set goals and targets. For Peninsular Malaysia and the 3 Federal Territories,
SPAN has been around since 2007 – hence they should look at the above holistically
for full resolution. The newly formed Sewerage Services departments in Sabah and
Sarawak can mirror SPAN’s effort for sewage related resolutions in their respective states.

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ERRC OUTLOOK FOR SEWAGE MANAGEMENT

ERRC stands for “Eliminate, Reduce, Raise and Create” – and it’s a simplistic innovative
and strategic management tool that can be applied for solving complex issues. Figure
6.14 below gives an idea on the ERRC methodology.

Figure 6.14: Example of ERRC Tool for Strategic Planning

For the purpose to resolve pollution to the environment linked to sewage discharges, the
following ERRC outlook could be consider as a policy and management tool:-
i. Eliminate - all sewage discharges that pollute the environment, remove all obsolete

systems, no sludge disposals to the environment, empty septage regularly,
ii. Reduce - the number of sewage discharge points in a catchment, control sewage

loadings based on carrying capacity of rivers and environment, reduce number of
septic tanks,
iii. Raise - improved standards of sewage discharge by better sewage treatment,
increased property connections, area of comprehensive sewerage coverage
nationwide,
iv. Create - more regionalized sewerage facilities, zero waste management and
circular economy, integration of water and sewerage services,

Efficiency is normally associated with competency, capability and ability to produce
results for a given level of input. In the context of sewerage services, the expectation of
efficiency is linked to the delivery of the most efficient or complete service for the users,
community and the environment at an acceptable rate of return. Hence, the ‘desired’
results associated with efficiency must be commensurate with the ability and willingness
of the local community to engage, participate and fairly contribute towards having a clean
and sustainable environment which is often closely linked to social-political influences.

Effectiveness is often associated with efficacy, impression created and ability to
produce desired effects. Again, in the context of sewerage services improvements, the
expectation of an effective sewerage service means improvements to public health,
quality of water resources and the overall environment. This require major policy

165

changes, strong regulation and enforcement, community and stakeholder inclusiveness,
adequate investments and sustainable management and operations to elevate the
effectiveness of sewerage services deliverables nationwide.

Both efficiency and effectiveness are an important ingredient for successful ERRC
outlook for sewage. Figure 6.15 below provides an idea of future outlook for good
sewage management.

TOILET FUTURE EVOLUTION TREATMENT
SEWER

Figure 6.15: Future Outlook for Sewerage Improvements

RECOMMENDATIONS TO CURB SEWAGE POLLUTION

Based upon the facts as highlighted in the previous sections, it is imperative that urgent
attentions and actions are taken to curb the long outstanding sewage pollution issues in
Malaysia. The recommended actions can be based on the sources of sewage pollutions
nationwide as prescribed below:-

Public STPs

The action plans for public STPs shall be as follows:-
i. Reduce the number of discharge points by rationalising as many of these STPs

based on receiving water carrying capacities;
ii. Propose multiple discharge standards or limits instead of the current 2 standards

which is not economical nor sustainable. The standards need to be based on

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percentile limits instead of the current absolute limits to ensure long term benefits
to the country;
iii. Focus on sewer extension programs to tap as many properties within the catchment;
iv. Mark the properties where part of their discharges are not connected to the nearby
sewers for enforcement purposes;
v. Upgrade STPs which are under performing to meet environmental balances; and
vi. Self-regulation by the Licensee shall be encouraged based on set KPIs by the
Regulator and Government.

Private STPs

Initiatives as per public plants above applies for private plants too. In addition, the
following actions are necessary:-
i. To license all (100%) of the current and new private STPs immediately;
ii. Where possible, transfer these private STPs to public STPs for better long term

sustainable management;
iii. If there are public sewers nearby, connect and rationalise selected private STPs to

reduce managing too many discharge points;
iv. Owner to upgrade non performing private STPs;
v. Enforcement actions should be taken on non performing STPs; and
vi. Sludge management at private STPs to be closely monitored.

Septic Tanks

The required actions for septic tanks are as follows:-
i. Enforce WSIA Rules on desludging requirements more aggressively to meet at

least one- thirds of the existing septic tanks nationwide are desludged annually;
ii. Owner must be responsible and should make good malfunctioned septic tanks;
iii. Desludging to be enforced on a scheduled basis, perhaps once in 2 years at

urbanised locations and once in 3 years in non-urbanised places;
iv. Where possible, septic tanks located within 30 meters to public sewers shall be

decommissioned and connected via a property connection program;
v. A revolving fund to facilitate property connection may be helpful;
vi. Where sewers are not available, but the discharge loads from septic tanks are high,

need to intercept the drainage systems at strategic locations for further treatment in
order to protect the downstream rivers;
vii. Interceptor sewers/drains connecting to treatment plants or constructed wetlands
(nature based solution) is the way forward for densely populated septic tank
catchments; and
viii. Green Labels to be issued for display to properties that had desludged their septic
tanks during the said periods.

Primitive Systems

Actions required for primitive or obsolete systems are as follows:-
i. Need a program to upgrade these facilities at least (minimum) to a septic tank

167

system and shall be maintained periodically;
ii. These facilities need to be mapped, monitored and desludged regularly based on a

periodic schedule;
iii. Some of these system’s discharges sitting as a colony can be intercepted by a sewer

or drain and channeled for further low cost treatment such as constructed wetland
or stone media filtration;
iv. Where possible, need to be connected to nearby sewers or STPs;
v. Densely populated colonies need to be planned for future sustainability;
vi. Incentive programs need to be introduced to support the lower income group; and
vii. Proliferation of new primitive systems should be put to a stop.

Sullage (Grey Water)

Actions required to curb direct discharge of sullage to the environment includes:-
i. These premises need to be mapped, monitored and enforced for improvements in

each locality;
ii. Need to enforce all existing premises to be properly connected to the existing

sewerage systems or to interceptor sewers/drains with treatment plant facilities;
iii. Close collaborative efforts to be led by the local authorities and district offices is

crucial to make this happen;
iv. There must be a prioritized program to execute these connections starting with the

most polluted rivers moving towards full enforcement at all areas;
v. Singapore had done well in executing this effort and can be used as a model and

as lesson learnt; and
vi. Necessary supplemental amendments to the existing laws may be required.

Fat, Oil & Grease (FOG)

Actions required to address excess discharge of fat, oil and grease includes:-
i. Inventory of all eateries and FOG producing premises that pollutes;
ii. Provision of well-designed and well maintained fat, oil & grease traps in every

restaurants and food stalls throughout the country;
iii. Check for compliances to maintenance requirements;
iv. Issue and/or revoke licenses and penalties to outlets that do not comply;
v. Safe disposal and/or reuse of collected FOG;
vi. Establish regional/sub-regional central FOG treatment and processing center; and
vii. Additional scope of sewerage services and income in the future.

Compatible Trade Wastewater

In areas where selected industries that contribute towards river pollution, efforts should
be made to tap compatible pre-treated trade effluents into nearby sewer lines for further
treatment in central sewage treatment plants. This involves new policy, regulation
and charging mechanisms but the overall outcome will prove to be beneficial to the
environment in the long term.

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All the above actions are urgently necessary to curb sewage pollution in Malaysia. Figure
6.16 below translates some of these actions required for simplistic understanding and
implementation.

WAYS TO ADDRESS ‘ALL’ COMPONENTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION

(> 1 million properties) To be All private plants to be To be enforced for proper
desludged on a scheduled basis licensed and maintained treatment of their respective

or connected to catchment (>5,000 STPs) discharges
systems

Will Result in:
Drastic reduction in sewage

loadings to river

To be converted to IST or Sullage connection to be enforced
connected to sewerage systems for connection to sewerage

(app. 1 million nos.) systems (Approximately 50% of
properties)

Figure 6.16: Ways to Curb Current Sewage Pollution Loadings to our Environment

MOVING FORWARD TO 2040

The key objective for 2040 shall be to free our waterways and environment from sewage
related pollution. Key environmental impacts from sewage and sewerage related
activities are shown in Figure 6.17 below.

Figure 6.17: Impacts from Sewage and Sewerage Activities on the Environment
169

Hence a holistic plan is required to resolve all potential sewage related impacts to the
environment. A comprehensive nationwide blueprint to chart the way forward for the long
term control, development and management of sewage in Malaysia shall be established
through:-
i. A clear National Sewerage Policy with Targets and Timelines for all areas; and
ii. An Implementation Program for Sewerage Actions based on individual

Catchments.

ROLE OF SEWERAGE CATCHMENT PLANNING WITHIN
A SERVICE AREA BOUNDARY UNDER THE WSIA-SPAN REGIME

$
$

$

$
$

$

HOLISTIC SEWERAGE INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES
FOR THE FUTURE (CASE STUDY: PUTRAJAYA)

Figure 6.18: Typical Sewerage Catchment Area Issues and Future Planning Goals

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Figure 6.18 above shows a typical concept of current and future planning required based
on sewerage catchment plan. Typically the Sewerage Catchment Plans shall include:-
i. Provision of basic sewerage facilities for all areas;
ii. Gradual eradication of ineffective sewerage facilities;
iii. Increasing connected sewerage facilities;
iv. Increasing regionalised sewerage systems; and
v. Comprehensive and sustainable management of sewerage system & services.

The plan shall be further supported by strong leadership, institutional framework and
governance to include operations, maintenance, desludging, training & accreditation,
standardisation, stakeholder awareness, public education, communication, development
control, research and innovations, enforcement with continuous monitoring for
improvements. The sewerage roadmap should also cover:-
i. Targets for both urban and rural areas;
ii. Targets to reduce septic tanks and conversion to connected service;
iii. Targets to phase out traditional and obsolete systems;
iv. Targets for connection of all grey water (sullage) to the sewer network;
v. Guidelines for the re-use of treated effluents (such as for irrigation, industrial

use, recycling as potable water) and re-use of treated biosolids (such as for land
application – organic fertilizer, conversion to generate electricity, manufacture of
aggregates and building materials);
vi. Selected sewage treatment plants to accept and treat influents other than domestic
sewage (such as compatible industrial effluents, storm water, wastewater) and for
public sewage treatment plants to play a greater role in treating more sources of
pollution for treatment prior to discharge into the environment;
vii. Improvement to existing environmental laws and regulations to cover all sources of
water pollutants for effective enforcement on polluters;
viii. Establish alternative sources of funding for sewage management e.g. public private
partnership, property developers, consumers (innovative charging structure),
private finance initiatives, sewerage land redevelopment, circular economy, zero
waste initiatives, etc;
ix. Develop plans for training, certification and accreditation for sewerage industry
players;
x. Establish inventory and monitoring mechanism on compliance of all sewage
discharges and increase enforcement activities; and
xi. Establish effective communication plans to increase public awareness on
environmental protection, importance of sewerage services and adherence to the
relevant laws.

171

The Figure 6.19 below simplifies the structural gaps on river management in Malaysia.

With respect to sewerage gaps, in order to execute the actions as proposed above, the
following recommendations are presented:-
i. All sewage pollution sources need to be inventoried and addressed in a holistic

manner to further minimize pollution in rivers caused by sewage. There must be
an ambitious plan with target timelines to eliminate untreated sewage discharges.
A five (5) and twenty (20) years clear target must be set to ensure the desired
outcomes. The 5 Year plan can be the Immediate Plan to address polluted areas
affecting water supply and the environment. Concurrently, a 20 Year plan should
address the rest of the country to curb sewage related pollution into Malaysian
waterways. If we start today, by year 2040 we could dream to see rivers that are
free from sewage related pollution and holistic sewerage services management.
ii. The current organizational structure comprising ministries, departments, agencies,
corporations and companies are adequate to execute the above action plans. Minor
supplemental amendments to the current regulations may be needed but mostly can
be decided at the ministerial level. Leadership, enforcement and audits are crucial.
Since KASA is responsible for the environment and water (including sewerage),
KASA should continue to play a leadership role by setting the line of sight, outcomes
and timelines to be achieved. This shall be construed as the government’s policy
direction. SPAN as the Water Commission under KASA backed by existing laws

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should come up with a comprehensive roadmap with targets to achieve the desired
outcome within 20 years. The 4 technical departments under KASA namely DOE,
JPS, JBA and JPP should take-up joint implementation responsibility including
monitoring and enforcement roles to achieve the set goals. IWK as the National
Sewerage Company wholly owned by the Government can be entrusted and made
accountable to execute part of the actions beyond their current role focusing on
public sewerage systems only. For Sabah and Sarawak, an appropriate structure
befitting local practices need to be established to achieve similar goals.

iii. Financing for the above actions may come from various innovative sources including
government, private sector, premise owners, loans, contributions, environmental
grants, etc. This need further analycis based on the what, why, who, when and how.
What need to be funded, why need to be funded, who should fund it, when should
it be funded and how will it be funded. For this, a comprehensive financial model
needs to be developed and closely monitored.

iv. Overarching the above, manpower and skills are important. The current
organizational framework can be further improved with clear directions to achieve
the set goals. Continuous coaching and human capital development is vital. More
importantly, manpower continuity and consistency is crucial. If the trained staff keep
changing all the time, there will be derailment along the way and difficult to complete
the mammoth tasks as listed in the action plan.

v. A continuous River Water Quality Improvement Program is required as a tool
to monitor and improve the water quality of selected (if not all) river basins. The
priority river basins to be selected shall be based on its beneficial use as a source
of potable water as well as its status with respect to its prevailing water quality
that has been classified as of lesser quality than Class IIA by DOE. The proposed
continuous river monitoring program offers several benefits to the Ministry (the
government) i.e. continuous basic information on river catchment and pollution
indicators, continuous program for river and water quality improvement, integrated
pollution control solution approach, quick response to emergency events, and
basis for establishment of future river water quality standards); the river basin (the
community i.e. controlled catchment development and enforcement, progressive
environmental improvements, heading towards future integrated catchment
activities and planning, identifying beneficial use of rivers, and eradication of illegal
and unlawful activities), and to the country (the environment i.e. self-regulation
on all types of pollution, positive contribution to environmental improvements via
continuous reporting, value added economic activities). This effort will deliver a win-
win outcome for all parties towards a healthy and better environment for all.

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AUTHOR

Ir. Ts. Hj Mohamed Haniffa Hj. Abdul Hamid FASc holds a Diploma
in Civil Engineering from University Technology Malaysia; B.Sc.
(Hons.) Civil Engineering from the University of Glasgow; and an
MSc in Public Health & Environmental Control Engineering from
the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He served the City Hall
of Kuala Lumpur from 1981 for 13 years as a Municipal Engineer
before retiring early from the government service when sewerage
services was privatised to Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) in early
1994. He is a Professional Engineer registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia
and he last retired as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of IWK in October 2020.
His main areas of expertise are in infrastructure developments, water & wastewater
management and river management. Over the years, he had vastly contributed to the
development and management of the sewerage industry in Malaysia particularly in the
areas of governance, policy directions, institutional reforms, standards & guidelines
formulation, capacity development, designs, construction, operations & maintenance,
research & development, quality control and environmental & safety management. He
is currently still actively involved with UTM, MJIIT, UTP, USM, UPM, while continues to
be an Adjunct Professor at UTM since 2011. He is also an Accreditation Board Member
at Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), London
(UK) and expert advisor to various non-governmental organizations and corporate
bodies. Currently, he is a Senior Advisor (Technology) at Minconsult Sdn Bhd, a leading
engineering consulting firm in Malaysia. His key roles there includes specialist inputs
on engineering excellence, business transformation strategies and enhancing circular
economy perspectives. He continues to be actively involved in water and environment
management initiatives with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the Malaysian
Water Association.

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Ipoh-born Jamal Affendy bin Shahar graduated from Universiti
Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) in Chemical Engineering. He started
his career as Environmental Control Officer in 2004 where he was
posted at Johor Department of Environment. There, he served in
various sections such EIA Assessment Unit, EIA Enforcement Unit
as well as Central Johor Bahru Enforcement Unit. Later, he was
transferred to DOE Sibu Branch Office as Head of Branch for 6
years where he gained a lot more experience where the working
and living environment was slightly different from the Peninsular.
In 2019, he was transferred to the DOE Headquarters and currently serving as Principal
Assistant Director at Water Resources Development Section, Water and Marine Division
where he is actively participating in developing policies related to water resources as
well as giving input for various studies undertaken by other Government Agencies. Apart
being an avid numismatic and philatelic collector, he also loves reading magazines and
books especially horror and thriller-genre. He thanked his late father for triggering these
hobbies which he feels that they really contribute to expanding his knowledge and mind-
soothing while facing tremendous stress. For this book, he really hopes that his minute
contribution will promote awareness among the readers to enhance our concerted
efforts in safeguarding our precious environment.

175

Like winds and sunsets, wild things
were taken for granted until progress

began to do away with them.

- Aldo Leopold

Taman Negara, Pahang.

Chapter 7

Malaysia Without
Water Pollution:

Are We
Dreaming The
Impossible?

MAARLEAYWSEIADRWEIATHMOINUGT WTHAETEIMRPPOOSLSLIUBTLIEO?N:

Minhaz Farid Ahmed, Norhazni binti Mat Sari, Mazlin bin Mokhtar,
& Mohd Helmi Ahmad

INTRODUCTION

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is not a new concept in Malaysia,
however, the implementation of it is still not up to the expected mark (Ahmed et al. 2020a)
mainly due to inadequate water education and training as well as communication among
the multi-stakeholders. Although the government and non-government agencies, as well
as private and community organizations have concentrated, adopted, and promoted
the implementation of the IWRM concept since the 1990s (Mokhtar et al. 2017, 2011,
2010), unfortunately, many water-related disasters are still happening frequently all over
the country (Ahmed et al. 2020b, 2016a, 2016b). These disasters are not only from
natural phenomenon but also from anthropogenic activities especially related to river
pollution resulting in consequences in industrial shutdowns, non-revenue water (NRW),
ecological and human health risks and as such, which are very expensive for the nation
to recover (Ahmed et al. 2019, 2020c, 2020d, 2020e).

Many special commissions has been set up to investigate the causes and recoveries
from water-related disasters by the government agencies as well as many scientific
and social science studies/investigations have also been conducted by universities,
research organizations, individual consultants and as such. Many studies on hydrology,
river engineering, river basin management, lake basin management, coastal zone
management, groundwater management and as such have also been conducted
by the Dept. of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia to enhance Integrated River Basin
Management (IRBM) for IWRM. The sustainable water resources management of
Putrajaya lake is one of the success stories of the Malaysia International Hydrological
Programme (MIHP) which is a UNESCO IHP demonstration site as well as Langat River
Basin is a UNESCO HELP (Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy) river basin in
Malaysia. Moreover, NGOs and the media have played vital roles in raising community
awareness of water and environmental management.

Hence, many community-based organizations were established throughout Malaysia
to monitor and safeguard river and other water bodies from pollution. Unfortunately,
these community-based platforms are standing alone which requires an appropriate
platform along with effective leadership roles to participate voluntarily in water resources
management. The effective leadership roles of individuals and appropriate institutions
are one of the keys to boosting the implementation of IWRM for the sustainable

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development of the nation (Ahmed et al. 2020a). Although uncertainties in the form of
disasters are inherent in water resources management especially due to the changing
climate, however, better resilience and adaptation skills, as well as strategies, are very
much in need especially at the local level to reduce the impact of disasters as well as to
comply with the national, regional, and global goals and standards.

Water and environmental education, as well as capacity building of all the relevant
stakeholders especially the local governments via outreach events and training
programs, will be very effective to accelerate the implementation of IWRM in line with the
government’s aspiration to transform the water sector as a key economic growth activity
via the 12th to 15th Malaysia Five Year Plan by 2040. In Malaysia, the capacity building of
local governments- the 171 district offices and the 154 local authorities- is very crucial
because of its mandate to manage the water and natural resources based on legislation
(Ahmed et al. 2018a, 2018b). A total of 171 district offices are responsible for managing
the water, land, and forest within their jurisdiction as well as generating revenue for the
state governments. On the other hand, a total of 154 local authorities are in charge of the
enforcement of legislation for water and environmental management. Therefore, special
training is required to motivate and encourage them to take proactive leadership roles as
well as appropriate decisions based on S&T (i.e. science and technology) and SSH (i.e.
social science and humanities) for sustainable water resources management using multi
stakeholder’s platforms/public participatory platforms (PPPs) and sustainability science
approaches which has much been voiced out by UNESCO via the ‘Malaysia Funds in
Trust’ (Mokhtar et al. 2019a, 2019b, 2018). Moreover, using the UNESCO platform, the
regional cooperation can also be enhanced through training programs as well as sharing
the knowledge and expertise for the capacity building of the relevant stakeholders to
accelerate the implementation of IWRM. Therefore, accelerating the implementation
of IWRM via the capacity building of multi-stakeholders for better communication and
collaboration at the river basin level can be a suitable way forward for Malaysia towards
its journey for sustainable development well before 2030, especially via reducing
pollution.

WATER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Water education at all levels should be addressed appropriately and effectively
considering the uncertain water disasters both from climate change and man-made
reasons (UNESCO, 2021b). Too much water, as well as too little water, are real concerns,
especially in the era of rapid climate change. Malaysia, being situated in the tropic, has
already experienced frequent floods and droughts events apart from the pollution of
water bodies both from natural and man-made reasons.

For instance, the pollution of the Langat River, which drains through Selangor, Negeri
Sembilan state and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya in Malaysia,
is one of the significant threats to the local populations because it is the prime source
of drinking water in the basin (Ahmed et al., 2020a; Alsalahi et al., 2014; Juahir et al.,

179

2011). The water of this river is used for drinking, domestic and agricultural activities
as well as industrial activities (Santhi et al., 2012). There is the presence of both point
and non-point sources of pollution along the river (Al-Mamun & Zainuddin, 2013; Juahir
et al., 2010). However, there is a significant difference in pollution in the river between
upstream and downstream (Yap, 2013). On the one hand, the point sources are sewage
disposal, discharge from industries, wastewater and effluent treatment plants (Al-Odaini
et al., 2013). On the contrary, the rapid urbanisation of the river basin along with land
clearing and agricultural activities is considered the non-point source of pollution (Juahir
et al., 2011). Similarly, climate change has contributed significantly to the non-point
sources such as agricultural pollution in the Langat River through uncertainty in rainfall
patterns, floods, landslides, etc. (IPCC, 2014; Ali et al., 2012; Rapport et al., 2002). It
is also reported that many of the nine drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in the
basin had to remain closed several times either for heavy flood/mudflow and turbidity
or high chemical concentration due to drought situations (Ali et al., 2012; SPAN, 2012).
Moreover, the inadequate collaboration among the agencies has also attributed to the
pollution of the river, since Langat River Basin shares four different constituencies
(Ahmed et al., 2018a; Mokhtar et al., 2009; 2010). As a result, both the local biodiversity
and human being are affected severely (Gong et al., 2009), and the populations might
have suffered from the water-borne diseases (IPCC, 2014) as well as diseases from the
chemical ingestion via drinking water (Ahmed et al., 2019; 2020c, 2020e).

Therefore, water education must go beyond the classroom teaching of hydrological
science at primary, secondary and tertiarily levels (UNESCO, 2021b). Water education
should combine both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches along with
incorporating sustainability science to contribute to sustainable development. The
incorporation of sustainability science in water education is very crucial because of its
contribution to advancing scientific knowledge through the training of scientists as well
as increasing knowledge on water issues through training programmes targeting water
professionals and decision-makers along with other relevant stakeholders. And this
training programme for water education should be done using business unusual training
modules considering the disaster risk reduction perspectives for sound planetary health.
Planetary health refers to the health of human civilizations and the natural system on
which it depends. An example of better human health refers to better access to safe
water and sanitation services, however, by 2050 over 40% of the world population could
be living in areas under severe water stresses (The Lancet, 2015).

Sustainability science deals with the complex human-induced climate and ecosystem
issues from a broad perspective especially using the S&T (i.e., science and technology)
as well as SSH (i.e., social science and humanities) data and information mainly from the
local level (UNESCO, 2021c). Sustainability science aims to harmonize and balance the
environmental and socio-economic issues for sustainable development where the multi-
stakeholder groups/ public participatory platforms play a key role to drive the sustainability
science agenda. Moreover, enhanced collaboration and cooperation between academia

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and practitioners is vital to developing and implementing sustainability science toward
bringing solutions to complex issues. Therefore, good collaboration among academia,
governments, think tanks, the private sector, media, NGOs and communities is essential
to support good governance for a sustainable society and to obtain the full potential of
sustainability science (UNESCO, 2021c).

Media professionals are also one of the important catalysts for advancing water education
to make understand the value of water by the multi-stakeholders. In this regard, the
business unusual integrated water resources management (IWRM) training modules
and the training centre facilities are important to communicate and collaborate better
with the multi-stakeholders, especially with the communities. To communicate water
issues accurately and effectively, the media professional can reach out to the multi-
stakeholders potentially following the communication, education and public awareness
(CEPA) model. The training of multi-stakeholders using IWRM training modules aims to
enhance their proactive leadership roles for better water management based on good
communication, collaboration and cooperation. Therefore, the IWRM training modules
should include water-related disasters, water values, leadership roles, willingness
to participate and willingness to pay, laws and policies, water finance, role play of
multi-stakeholders and as such while teaching face-to-face or using online platforms
to accelerate the implementation of IWRM. This IWRM training programme might
accelerate the formal, informal and non-formal water education by the stakeholders
especially to promote communitywide water conservation, as well as to enhance skills
in local co-management of water resources (UNESCO, 2021c).

Water education in the form of formal, informal and non-formal ways is crucial to instil
the value of water in the mindset of multi-stakeholders. Mass media professionals
can play an important role in increasing awareness, advocacy and capacity building
of multi-stakeholders for water management considering the prevention as well as
post-water disaster management (UNESCO, 2021d). Functional public participatory
platforms (PPPs) are also very important to organize them for their effective and pro-
active leadership roles in water management. However, communities need to have the
appropriate knowledge and understanding of their watershed, the natural, social, and
cultural conditions, as well as policies and regulations, economic trends and development
opportunities, to be involved in water management and conservation. For better
management of water, water should be accounted both for social and economic values,
and it should consider both normal and disaster (i.e., uncertain) times (Figure 7.1).
Social values of water incorporate both the cultural and ecosystem aspects especially
at the river basin level, while monetary value refers to the water services such as water
supply. On the other hand, ecosystems such as forests, wetlands and grasslands are
a critical part of the global water cycle and recognizing the water cycle as a biophysical
process is essential to achieving sustainable water management (UNWATER, 2021).

181

Figure 7.1: Value of Water to Economy, Society and Nature (Morgan and Orr, 2015)
Water also cross-cuts all the seventeen (17) SDGs (Sustainable development goals)
Figure 7.2. Six (6) out of seventeen (17) SDGs are strongly related to sustainable water
management, eight (8) out of seventeen (17) SDGs are moderately related to water
management while only three (3) out of seventeen (17) SDGs are indirectly related
to water management. SDG 3- good health and wellbeing, SDG 6- clean water and
sanitation, SDG 11- sustainable cities and communities, SDG 13- climate action, SDG
14- life below water, and SDG 15- life on land are strongly related to water management
and these SGDs are also important pillars for better planetary health. Therefore, effective
water management can significantly contribute to achieving sustainable development
well before the stipulated time, i.e., before the year 2030.

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Figure 7.2.: Water Cross Cutting all the 17 SDGs (UNESCO, 2021a)
183

LEADERSHIP ROLES, POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

Education, management, communication and collaboration are the important drivers for
a sustainable environment including water resources management. Malaysia is quite
advanced in taking care of its natural environment via several international commitments
such as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992), Kyoto Protocol
to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce
greenhouse gasses emissions (1997), the United Nations Millennium Development
Goals- MDGs (2005), the Paris Agreement on Sustainable Development Goals- SDGs
(2015), and as such.

At the national and local levels, Malaysia has already taken several initiatives for sustainable
environmental management incorporating the management of climate change and man-
made disasters especially following the United Nations’ Sendai Framework on Disaster
Risk Reduction (UNDRR, 2015). For instance, both the 11th (2016-2020) and 12th (2021-
2025) Malaysia Five-Year Plans emphasized ensuring environmental sustainability
while driving the rapid development activities to achieve the status of a developed nation
soonest as well as ensuring sustainable development well before the stipulated year 2030.

In the 11th Malaysia Five-Year Plan, management of the water sector was one of
the six strategic thrusts of nation-building (EPU, n.d.). Following the 11th Malaysia
Plan, the government of Malaysia also highly prioritized integrated water resources
management (IWRM) via the National Agenda of Water Sector Transformation 2040
(WST2040) study for a dynamic water sector that can contribute to the national
GDP at the end of the 15th Malaysia Five-Year Plan (2036-2040). This ambitious
WST2040 initiative, by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) under the Prime Minister’s
Office of Malaysia, via the 12th to 15th Malaysia Five-Year Plans (2021-2040), also
highly emphasized the Advocacy, Awareness, Capacity Building (AACB) and Public
Participatory Platforms (PPPs) for the integrated water resources management.

Advocacy, Awareness, Capacity Building (AACB) and Public Participatory Platforms
(PPPs) for integrated water resources management is one of the eight sub-sectors
of the Water Sector Transformation 2040 (WST2040) initiative to drive and empower
people for better water governance (UTM, 2020; The Sun Daily, 2021). Special interest
to train the multi-stakeholders for IWRM following the quadruple-helix stakeholder’s
model (i.e., government, business/industry, academia, and NGO/community) is
embedded in WST2040 via the AACB sub-sector while incorporating the available public
participatory platforms (PPPs) for the effective participation of multi-stakeholders in
water management. The importance of proactive leadership roles and communications
from the government sector especially in developing countries like Malaysia is one of
the important keys to accelerating the implementation of IWRM while ensuring good
collaboration and cooperation among relevant stakeholders via special IWRM training
for capacity building. Eventually, this capacity building for IWRM especially of the local
government will ensure the effective implementation of IWRM policies at the local level
in line with the national and international commitments.

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Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA)

CEPA has also been prioritized via proposing the ‘National Environment Commission’
as expressed in the special study of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) under
the Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA), Malaysia (Malay Mail, 2021). The
recommendation to establish the ‘National Environment Commission’ in Malaysia is for
ensuring the harmonization of policy implementation between the Federal and State
government for water and environmental management toward sustainable development.
All these approaches for water management are incorporating the ‘whole of water
ecosystem approach via the 8i Model.’ Info-structure (i.e., research, development,
commercialization and innovation), Infrastructure, finance, people and governance are
highly emphasized in the 12th Malaysia Five Year Plan for the WST2040 (EPU, 2021).
Similarly, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) has also recently published the
‘Science Outlook 2020’ in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation (MOSTI) and recommended the ‘whole of government’ as well as ‘whole
of society’ approaches among many recommendations for environmental sustainability
towards achieving sustainable development (ASM, 2021).

CEPA is a tool to manage the process of individual and community engagement in
the multi-stakeholders platform (Hesselink, 2002). The CEPA approach uses the
engagement of stakeholders with appropriate tools and channels to instil a sense of
ownership of the problem and solution. This will encourage more sustained involvement
of the stakeholders throughout the program. The role of the ‘National Environmental
Commission’ in using CEPA programs, especially in Malaysia is very important to
harmonize the policy implementation by the local government and local agencies.
CEPA programs attract, motivate and mobilize individual for collective actions because
it brings out common interests amongst stakeholders for environmental sustainability
(IUCN, 2007; Hesselink et al., 2007). Moreover, CEPA comprises a broad range of social
instruments including information exchange, participatory dialogue, education and
social marketing and provides the means to develop networks, and partnerships and
support knowledge management. Hence, the proactive and effective leadership roles of
the ‘National Environmental Commission’ will enhance the accessibility of stakeholders
to real-time data and information for their efficient decision-making processes towards
environmental conservation and sustainability which also includes water resources.
Therefore, the ethical, brave, informed, motivated and committed stakeholders via
special training and other capacity-building programs of CEPA via the platform of
‘National Environmental Commission’ will contribute significantly towards environmental
conservation as well as fulfil the aspiration of sustainable development goals within 2030.

Institutional Collaboration and Cooperation

Environmental protection including water quality standards in Malaysia is ensured via
the ‘Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974’ which was the spirit embedded in the 3rd
and 4th Five-Year Malaysia Plans. The EQA 1974 as well as the latest ‘Water Service
Industry Act 2006’ ensures the punishment of water polluters, as well as ensured safe
water quality and available water quantity for the nation. Surface water, groundwater
and marine water quality standards are also produced and monitored by the Department

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of Environment (DOE) Malaysia. In addition, the drinking water quality standard is
monitored by the Engineering Services Division under the Ministry of Health (MOH)
Malaysia.
DOE under the Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA) also publishes the
environmental status of Malaysia in the ‘Annual Environmental Quality Report’.The
latest publication is the ‘Annual Environmental Quality Report 2019’ (DOE, 2019). The
report presents some detail about surface (Figure 7.3), groundwater (Figure 7.4, 7.5)
and marine water (Figure 7.6, 7.7, 7.8) quality status of the country.With regards water
quality, the WQI applied is related to beneficial use (Table 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4). The
overall water quality index (WQI) is calculated in the range of 0 ≤ WQI ≤ 100 for drinking
purposes. A WQI value > 92.7 indicates Class I (i.e., clean), a WQI value of 76.5–92.7
indicates Class II (i.e., requires conventional treatment before drinking), a WQI value of
51.9–76.5 indicates Class III (i.e., requires extensive treatment before drinking), a WQI
value of 31.0–51.9 indicates Class IV (i.e., can be used for irrigation) and a WQI value <
31.0 indicates Class V (i.e., polluted, cannot be used for the earlier mentioned purposes)
(DOE, 2015; WEPA, 2006).

Figure 7.3: River Water Quality Trend 2008-2019 in Malaysia (DOE, 2019).

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Figure 7.4: Groundwater Quality Index Trend 2015-2019 for Agriculture in Malaysia (DOE, 2019)
Figure 7.5: Groundwater Quality Index Trend for Urban and Suburban in Malaysia (DOE, 2019)

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Figure 7.6: Marine Water Quality Status of Coastal Area 2015-2019 in Malaysia (DOE, 2019)

Figure 7.7: Marine Water Quality Status of Estuary Area 2015-2019 in Malaysia (DOE, 2019)
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Figure 7.8: Marine Water Quality Status of Island Area 2015-2019 in Malaysia (DOE, 2019)
The Environment Institute of Malaysia (EiMAS) under DOE also provides training to DOE
officers as well as other professional on environmental management including waste
management to reduce water pollution (DOE, 2022). DOE has also adopted the ‘Guided
Self-Regulation’ to carry out organizational activities via the environmental impact
assessment (EIA) and policy implementation activities effectively to protect environment
including water resources (DOE, 2016). DOE has also realized the importance of
empowering the community for environmental management, and therefore, created
the volunteer platform ‘Friends of Environment/Rakan Alam Sekitar (RAS)’ for the
environmental management of the country. Meanwhile, the volunteer number of RAS is
several hundred thousand all over Malaysia (DOE, 2021). RAS is very active in waste
management specially to clean the river voluntarily as well as the volunteer is very much
motivated to educate others on environmental management. Annual Environmental
Week celebration of DOE is one the finest examples to communicate with multi-
stakeholders including school goers via campaign, seminar, roadshow, and as such for
water resources management. Therefore, the motto of DOE is based on the ‘Guided Self-
Regulation’ for environmental management where individuals share their responsibility
to ensure environmental sustainability. Similarly, KASA has initiated the National River
Trail (DSK) program to empower the community for river basin management, especially
for the pollution management. River Trail program also aims to encourage the local
community for water-based eco-tourism as well as aspires to train the community to
become the eyes and ears of the government for the integrated river basin management
(IRBM) to contribute to achieving sustainable development.

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Table 7.1: National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia (DOE, 2015)

PARAMETER UNIT I IIA CLASS IV V
0.3 IIB III 2.7 > 2.7
Ammoniacal Nitrogen mg/l 0.1 0.3 0.9
3 12 > 12
Biochemical Oxygen mg/l 1 36
Demand 25 100 > 100
25 50
Chemical Oxygen mg/l 10 5-7 <3 <1
Demand 6-9 5-7 3-5 5-9 –
50 6-9 5-9 300 300
Dissolved Oxygen mg/l 7 50 150

pH - 6.5 - 8.5

Total Suspended Solid mg/l 25

Table 7.2: Water Classes and Uses in Malaysia (DOE, 2015)

CLASS USES

Conservation of natural environment.

Class I Water Supply I - Practically no treatment necessary.

Class IIA Fishery I - Very sensitive aquatic species.
Water Supply II - Conventional treatment.
Class IIB
Fishery II - Sensitive aquatic species.
Class III Recreational use body contact.
Water Supply III - Extensive treatment required.
Class IV
Class V Fishery III - Common, of economic value and tolerant species; livestock drinking.
Irrigation
None of the above.

Table 7.3: DOE Water Quality Classification Based on Water Quality Index (DOE, 2015)

SUB INDEX & Clean INDEX RANGE Polluted
WATER QUALITY INDEX 91 - 100 Slightly Polluted 0 - 79
92 - 100 0 - 70
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) 76 - 100 80 - 90 0 - 69
Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3-N) 81 - 100 71 - 91 0 - 59
Suspended Solids (SS) 70 - 75
Water Quality Index (WQI) 60 - 80

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Table 7.4: DOE Water Quality Index Classification (DOE, 2015)

PARAMETER UNIT I II CLASS IV V
mg/l < 0.1 0.1 – 0.3 III 0.9 – 2.7 > 2.7
Ammoniacal Nitrogen
Biochemical Oxygen mg/l < 1 1–3 0.3 – 0.9 6 – 12 > 12
Demand
Chemical Oxygen 3–6
Demand
Dissolved Oxygen mg/l < 10 10 – 25 25 – 50 50 – 100 > 100
pH
Total Suspended Solid mg/l > 7 5–7 3–5 1–3 <1
Water Quality Index - > 7.0 6.0 – 7.0 5.0 – 6.0 < 5.0 > 5.0
(WQI) 25 – 50 50 – 150 150 – 300 > 300
mg/l < 25

- > 92.7 76.5 – 92.7 51.9 – 76.5 31.0 – 51.9 < 31.0

The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Malaysia is responsible for the
management of 2,986 river basins whereas the number of major river basins is 189 all
over Malaysia (Table 7.5, 7.6). The definition of a major river basin is- the basin has an
area of more than 80 km² (MyWP, 2015). The major task of DID in river basin management
is the management of river banks and riverine structures, as well as ensuring irrigation,
and flood management with early warning systems and as such. DID also encourages
multi-stakeholders to participate actively in river basin management using its community
communication platform- ‘Sg. Pusat Informasi/River Information Centre.’ These centres
are created at several river basins to provide hands-on information to the community
about that particular river basin as well as to train the community for their capacity
building towards water resources management. The River of Life (ROL) project of DID
in collaboration with the environmental NGO- Global Environment Centre (GEC) - is one
of the remarkable examples of community empowerment for river basin management
while also promoting river-based eco-tourism.

Table 7.5: River Basins in Malaysia (MyWP, 2015)

CATEGORY NUMBER OF RIVER BASIN
River basin within a state 2,958
River basin shared with several states 22
River basin shared with neighbouring country 6
2,986
Total

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Table 7.6: River Basins in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in Sabah and Sarawak (DID, 2017)

AREA NO. OF BASIN MAIN BASIN SMALL BASIN
(> 80 KM²)
Peninsular Malaysia 1,235 1,161
Sabah 1,468 74 1,393
Sarawak 75
Total 283 40 243
Total Area (km²) 2,986 189 2,797
% of Total Area 327,897.031 312,863.713 15,033.858
95%
5%

The river basin is an area of land (Figure 7.9) from which all surface run-off flows through
a sequence of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes into the sea at a single river mouth,
estuary or delta (DID, 2017).

Figure 7.9: Illustration of a River Basin (DID, 2017)

Some state governments have already established state water authorities, e.g.,
Selangor Water Management Authority/Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (SWMA/LUAS) for
the management of water bodies within the state as well as the transboundary river basin
management. The transboundary Langat River Basin Management by LUAS is a good
example because this river basin is also recognized by UNESCO as the HELP (Hydrology
for the Environment, Life and Policy) river basin since 2004. The Langat River drains
through Selangor state, Negeri Sembilan state as well as the Federal Territories of Kuala
Lumpur and Putrajaya. Government agencies, private and business sector, community and
NGOs, and research and academic institutions are actively involved in the transboundary
Langat River Basin Management. Moreover, the Putrajaya Lake, the first man-made

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wetland in Malaysia and the largest constructed freshwater wetland in the tropics, within
the Langat River Basin is also recognized as a UNESCO Eco-hydrology demonstration
site since 2010. All these progress and recognition towards IWRM have been achieved
via good collaboration and cooperation among multi-stakeholders with academia
support via research and capacity-building activities. Relevant agencies as well as laws
related to integrated river basin management (IRBM) in Malaysia is presented in Table 7.7.

Table 7.7: Integrated River Basin Management Related Statute and Agency in Malaysia

MANAGEMENT STATUTE AGENCY
Environmental Quality Act 1974 D. of Environment (F)

Drinking Water Quality Standard D. of Health (F)

Pollution control Street, Drainage & Building Act 1974 Local government (S)
Local Government Act 1976 Local government (S)

LUAS Enactment 1999 LUAS (S)

Water Services Industry Act 2006 Water Commissioner (F)

National Forestry Act 1984 D. of Forestry (S)

Catchment area LUAS Enactment 1999 LUAS (S)

Local Government Act 1976 Local government (S)

Land Conservation Act 1960 Land Office (S)

Land Use Town & Country Planning Act 1976 Local government (S)
Drainage Local Government Act 1976 Local Government (S)

Drainage Works Act 1954 DID (F)

Flood Control Ministerial Function Act 2008 DID (F)
LUAS Enactment 1999 LUAS (S)

Water services Water Services Industry Act 2006 Water Commissioner (F)

Note: F = Federal Level, S = State Level. Source: (Khalid et al. 2018).

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Figure 7.10: Location of Major River Basins in Malaysia (MESTECC 2018)
Based on the major river basins in the country as shown in Figure 7.10, vulnerable
dams exposed to incident of floods and droughts are identified and monitored (Figure
7.11). As an example, the Bukit Merah Dam in Perak is vulnerable to both floods and
droughts due to rapid climate change. Bukit Kwong Dam faced extended periods of
drought for as long as eight consecutive months. In 2014-2015, the Sungai Langat Dam,
Sungai Selangor Dam and Sungai Tinggi Dam experienced three or more consecutive
months of storage levels at below 50% capacity. Future dry spell projections indicate
that these dams may face significant dry spells with a return period of more than 10
years by 2040 (MESTECC, 2018).

Figure 7.11. Vulnerable Dams Due to Flood and Drought in Peninsular Malaysia
(MESTECC 2018)
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The National Hydraulic Research Institute (NAHRIM) reported that the Malaysian
coastlines were being affected by rising sea levels, with numerous parts of the
country expected to be underwater by the end of the century (Figure 7.12).
NAHRIM reported sea levels is rising by between 0.2mm and 4.4mm every year
since 2010 due to climate change in Malaysia (Lee 2015; Ghazali et al. 2018).

Figure 7.12. Projected Sea-level Rise Along the Coast of Malaysia (Lee 2015; Ghazali et al. 2018)
Functional Multi-Stakeholder’s Platform
Functional multi-stakeholders platforms or the public participatory platforms are the
keys to accelerating the implementation of integrated water resources management
(IWRM). The Penta-helix stakeholders’ (i.e., government, business, academia,
community and NGO) willingness to participate and willingness to pay for IWRM
is essential. Therefore, the capacity building of stakeholders via education and
training will contribute to better communication, collaboration and cooperation.
The involvement of the business sector in water resources management has
also been encouraged by the government, especially via the agency- SEDA
(Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia). The water sector has been
identified as one of the potential sectors for investment toward green growth by
the Green Technology Financing Scheme- GTFS 2.0 (MGTC, 2021a). Ministry
of Finance has agreed to fund GTFS 2.0 which was recommended by the then
Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change
(MESTECC), and investors have ensured a rebate of 2% on interest/profit via the
Green Investment Tax Allowance (GITA) for Assets, GITA for Projects, and Green
Income Tax Exemption (GITE) for Service Providers (MGTC, 2021a,b). Similarly,
Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) at Selangor received the National
Energy Award 2019 by the Malaysia Green Technology Corporation for rainwater
harvesting (MGTCCC, 2019). KLIA2 was designed based on the concept of ‘Airport
in the Forest, Forest in the Airport’. It has implemented extensive rainwater and
condensate harvesting to reduce potable water use by 13%.

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Similarly, communities and NGOs also play important roles in water resources
management specially to reduce water pollution. For instance, the Friends of
River Malaysia (FORM), a voluntary platform in water resources management, is
active in river cleaning activities, waste management and as such. There are also
community platforms such as Rakan Alam Sekitar, Friends of Sg. Klang, Friends
of Sg. Melawati, and as such all over Malaysia, where communities have actively
come forward, especially for ‘Gotong Royong/ plogging/ Drain and River Cleaning
Activities under the National River Trail program. Meanwhile, the Selangor Water
Management Authority (SWMA/LUAS) has listed 19 community platforms i.e.,
Friends of River in Selangor state (LUAS, 2022). The community activities have
also been promoted by prominent environmental NGOs such as GEC, WWF and
as such in Malaysia. For instance, GEC in collaboration with the Dept. of Irrigation
and Drainage (DID) provides awards and small-scale funds to the communities,
schools, SMEs, media, and other stakeholders for doing green activities for the
sake of reducing water pollution.

Rakan Alam Sekitar (RAS) program was launched on 4 June 2009 by YAB Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Bin Mohd Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. The Environmental
Partner Program (RAS) is an initiative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment (NRE) in developing awareness and mobilizing community members
in environmental conservation and preservation activities. Environmental Partners
involves members of the community in a `hands-on manner, that is, being` eyes and
ears’ to assist government agencies that are responsible for combating activities
that damage or pollute the environment. The objectives of the Environmental
Partner Program are to provide environmental awareness at every level of society,
cultivate a sense of responsibility in the community to act and participate in caring
for a shared environment and provide the right channel for the community to make
complaints or views on the environment to the relevant government agencies.

GEC has produced the training module on “River Ranger” via the River Care
Program (GEC, 2022a) for comprehensive training for students on the environment,
water resources and rivers to emphasize not only water pollution but every aspect
of freshwater ecosystems including its biodiversity, functions, values, and benefits
to mankind, especially at the Pencala River Basin in Kuala Lumpur. Similarly,
WWF-Malaysia introduced the River Ranger in Inanam River, Sabah like the
live-action superhero series to motivate local communities who drive their river
conservation efforts, especially aspiring the trainee to become a trainer (WWF,
2017). The ultimate purpose is to train the future water leader for water resources
management via ToT (i.e., training of trainers). Accordingly, GEC in Peninsular
Malaysia and Sabah is connecting communities via managing the river while also
promoting river-based eco-tourism (GEC, 2022b).

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The government through KASA has launched the National River Trail Program
(DSK) as a new initiative set out in the KASA Strategic Plan 2030 which is a
pollution control mechanism for rivers and flood risk. The National River Trail
(DSK) program is a program development of routes along the alignment of rivers,
ponds or a body of water that serves to make it as leisure and recreation areas.
Indeed, activity down the trail while enjoying the fresh air and green beauty of
nature can not only give peace to the soul, in fact, more importantly, capable of
acting as a mechanism of care and river conservation from pollution activities.
Through DSK, trail construction will be developed with the Nature-based Solutions
(NBS) approach, which aims to address socio-environmental challenges around
through the management and use of nature sustainably, involving the cooperation
of various parties, including local authorities, non -governmental organizations
(NGOs), corporate bodies, local communities, students and others who will play a
role through their respective responsibilities.

The government is indeed serious to protect surface water, groundwater and marine
water quality. Among many initiatives, the gazette of coastal areas, islands and
other parts of the land as the ‘environmental protected areas (EPAs)’ is the key to
managing the water resources. The government is also aware to protect inland and
marine resources via gazetting sensitive areas. For instance, the Undan, Nangka
and Dodol Islands will be gazetted as the first national marine park in Malacca
(The Star, 2021). However, the gazette of Tun Mustapha Marine Park in Sabah
was to protect marine biodiversity including water quality while also supporting
the socio-economic condition of local communities (Sabah Parks, 2022). National
Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (i.e., NAHRIM) is also recoding the sea-
level rise along the coast of Malaysia as well as predicting the sea-level rise and
its impact on the coastal zone including the ports of Malaysia (Ghazali et al. 2018;
Lee, 2015). Malaysia has about 5267km of coastline and 29% of these face erosion
problems. As part of the solution to coastal erosion, both hard and soft engineering
approaches had been implemented. For the longer term, Integrate Shoreline
Management Plans (ISMPs) have been developed and implemented for specific
areas. In addition, a National Coastal Vulnerability Index to sea-level rise is being
developed. Detailed sea level rise studies had also been conducted at some of the
vulnerable coastal areas to project future vulnerabilities in a 20-year sequence from
2020 to 2100 (GOM, 2015). Hence, DID is implementing policies to manage the
shoreline including protection from the disasters such as cyclones, tsunamis and as
such. DID also researches coastal erosion and the impact of the sea-level rise on
coastal zone management. DID in collaboration with the Malaysian Meteorological
Department (MMD) is also providing early warning of rainfall, drought as well as
extreme weather events to the multi-stakeholders.

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Figure 7.13: Role of Academia as the Memory Keeper for Water Education, Management,
Communication and Collaboration (WEMCC)

There are many good policies, institutions, and experts along with foresight institution
under MIGHT (i.e., Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology)
in Malaysia, however, the implementation of policies especially at the local level
remain inadequate might be due to the not enough collaboration and cooperation
among the multi-stakeholders. Hence, academia can perform the role of memory
keeper (Mokhtar and Ahmed, 2019a) to facilitate the decision-making processes of
agencies at the local level using the existing multi-stakeholder platforms for the S&T
(i.e., science and technology) and SSH (i.e., social science and humanities) data
and information. Academia is the key to building the capacity of multi-stakeholders
via specialized training programmes for their proactive leadership roles in water
resources management (Figure 7.13). The capacity building of multi-stakeholders,
especially government officials, should be from the perspective of disaster risk
management whether it is from natural or man-made reasons. Multi-stakeholders
always need to be prepared for worst case scenarios to combat uncertainties in
occurring disasters due to rapid climate change.

CONCLUSION

The success of IWRM in Malaysia largely depends on the effective and up-to-date
water education, management, communication and collaboration (i.e., WEMCC) among

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relevant stakeholder groups. Although several IWRM training modules are available
along with capable institutions to manage the water resources, however, appropriate
communication, collaboration and cooperation among the stakeholder groups remain
inadequate. For instance, the frequent shutdown of drinking water treatment plants
(DWTPs) at the Klang Valley due to pollution in the rivers is a burning example of
inadequate communication and lack of good collaboration and cooperation among
stakeholders. Perhaps, the inadequate knowledge about the value of water and
planetary health might have also contributed to the unwillingness to participate of
stakeholders especially the business sector in water resources management. Apart
from the shutdown of DWTPs, the losses and damages from the frequent urban floods
especially in the Federal Territory- Kuala Lumpur have vividly surfaced the inadequate
implementation of policies as well as not enough collaboration among stakeholders,
although there exists a very good early warning system under the jurisdiction of the local
authority- DBKL (i.e., Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur/ Kuala Lumpur City Hall).

Therefore, it is obvious that capacity and capability building of local government (i.e.,
154 local authorities and 171 district offices) in Malaysia is the key to expediting the
implementation of integrated river basin management (IRBM), integrated lake basin
management (ILBM), integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in line with the
IWRM for sustainable development, especially during disasters from both from climate
change and anthropogenic activites. Capacity building of multi-stakeholders especially
local governments should be done via the specialized IWRM training modules from
the perspective of disaster risk reduction (DRR) for their proactive leadership roles as
well as using existing public participatory platforms (PPPs) for data and information
from various backgrounds. Hence, academia can perform the role of memory keeper to
fill up the institutional memory losses and facilitate decision-making processes of local
government with updated data and information such as the importance of the nature-
based solution (NbS) for watershed management, the value of water for planetary health
and as such. Meanwhile, Malaysia scored 63 out of 100 in 2020 for the implementation of
IWRM, although in 2018, the score was 43 out of 100. Therefore, there is much scope to
improve the implementation of IWRM via proactive leadership roles of multi-stakeholders
especially by the local government because neighbouring countries like Singapore
scored 100 out of 100 in terms of implementing IWRM during 2020. The latest SDG
global ranking of countries in 2022 by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(SDSN) reported that the SDG6 indicators (i.e., access to safe and available water for
all) of Malaysia are improving moderately. Therefore, water education, management,
communication, and collaboration (WEMCC) is one of the most important approaches
to turning Malaysia’s water sector into a dynamic water sector to contribute to national
GDP as aspired in the 12th to 15th Malaysia Five-Year Plans as well as in Shared
Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV2030) in line with achieving sustainable development goals
(SDGs) by 2030.

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