SUNGAI PETANI: The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry today raided two illegal factories processing e-waste and plastics.
Its minister, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who led Op Patuh, said they seized 1,500 metric tonnes of e-waste, 100 metric tonnes of used jumbo bags and 100 metric tonnes of recycled materials.
"Today's Op Patuh, carried out with the cooperation of the police and the Immigration Department, is aimed at cracking down on illegal industries in Kedah.
"The first factory was carrying out e-waste recovery without an Environmental Impact Assessment report and a licence from the Department of Environment (DoE). The other factory was recycling plastics without an EIA," he said at the site today.
Present was Kedah DoE director Sharifah Zakiah Syed Sahab.
Nik Nazmi said no workers were present during the raid. He added that the ministry did not rule out the possibility that the factory had resumed its activity recently after being ordered to cease operations for similar offences.
"We had issued a stop-work order against production machines being used on the premises under Section 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Quality Control Act 1974," he said.
He also said the factories were being investigated for violating three offences under the same act.
Nik Nazmi said based on the DoE's records, there were 3,526 factories comprising various sectors operating in Kedah.
"Up to June this year, the department has carried out 544 enforcement inspections on industries in Kedah.
"From the total, 359 enforcement actions have been taken, including notices to improve operations, compounds, stop-work orders for equipment, licence suspension and opening of investigation papers," he said.
Nik Nazmi said Op Patuh's key objective was to combat activities that fail to comply with the law and had an adverse impact on the environment, posing a health threat to the community and causing a leakage in the nation's and state's revenues.
"The ministry welcomes proposals to expand the gated and guarded industry to make sure that the management, control and supervision of these industries could be carried out effectively by the agencies."