Malaysia's Department of Environment (DOE) has opened a public consultation on draft regulations that would introduce lifecycle-style controls for three tiers of environmentally hazardous substances (EHS), governing their import, export and manufacture, as well as unintentional generation or release.
According to a 22 June presentation by the DOE's Hazardous Substances Division, the proposal would establish a new framework for managing EHS in Malaysia (see box) through tighter requirements for registration, notification, inventory reporting and monitoring.
Under the draft, affected substances would be categorised into three schedules:
- Schedule I covers EHS that are prohibited from being imported, exported or manufactured in Malaysia under any circumstances;
- Schedule II covers controlled EHS. Importers and exporters would have to notify the DOE's director general (DG) and obtain written permission before moving the substances into or out of the country. Manufacturers would be required to notify the DG at least 30 days before starting production. The DG could suspend or revoke approvals if submitted information is found to be inaccurate; and
- Schedule III covers EHS unintentionally generated or released during activities specified by the DG. Companies would be required to notify the DG and submit an annual action plan by 31 December describing measures to reduce or eliminate the substances.
Companies submitting information under the framework would have to maintain records and related chemical data for at least three years from the date of notification and make them available for inspection upon request. Employees involved in managing or handling EHS would also be required to complete appropriate training programmes to support safety and regulatory compliance.
The draft regulations would place compliance responsibility on individuals involved in regulated activities, including failing to notify the DOE, providing false or misleading information or importing, exporting or manufacturing prohibited substances. Breaches of key requirements could result in fines of up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgits (US$24,482), imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
Dual-listed substances
The regulations would apply to substances listed as EHS under the framework, as well as additional substances designated by the DG from time to time. The framework is intended to cover EHS that are not already regulated by another authority. However, where a substance is both listed as an EHS and controlled under another regime, it would remain subject to the EHS regulations without affecting enforcement under the other regime.
Radioactive substances, pesticides, poisons and substances controlled under Malaysia's Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2005 are outside the scope of the proposed framework.
Notification and registration activities would be managed through the Malaysia Environmentally Hazardous Substances System (MyEHS). The platform would support company registration, EHS inventory reporting, import and export notifications, explicit consent procedures, customs-related documentation, written permissions under the regulations and risk prioritisation activities.
International conventions
The draft regulations form part of Malaysia's efforts to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, both of which the DOE is prioritising for 2026.
The scheduling of substances would also take into account the Rotterdam Convention, the EU Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation (Regulation 649/2012), and other substances of concern identified by the DG.
The draft Environmental Quality (Environmentally Hazardous Substances) Regulations 202X is open for comments and suggestions until 22 July.
National Committee for Strengthening the Governance of Hazardous Chemicals
Malaysia's chemicals management framework is overseen by nine ministries and agencies under nine separate laws, with each authority maintaining its own chemical inventory system. These include the Poisons Act 1952, administered by the Ministry of Health (MOH); the Pesticides Act 1974, administered by the Department of Agriculture (DOA); occupational safety regulations overseen by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH); and customs import and export prohibition orders.
To address this fragmented system, the National Committee for Strengthening the Governance of Hazardous Chemicals was established in early 2025 under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), chaired by the minister.
The committee was created to improve coordination across chemicals legislation and data systems and support a more holistic, full-lifecycle, 'cradle-to-grave' approach to managing hazardous chemicals, from import and production through to disposal.
According to a parliamentary reply on 20 February 2025, its objectives include:
- facilitating data sharing among ministries and agencies;
- developing a national priority hazardous chemicals list;
- assessing risks and planning mitigation and emergency preparedness measures; and
- coordinating emerging cross-sector issues related to the management, control and monitoring of chemicals that pose risks to human health and the environment.
The proposed regulations have been under development since 2015. Consultation materials highlight a series of milestones, including hazardous chemical risk data collection, legal reviews, stakeholder engagement with industry and government agencies, and the upgrade of the earlier Environmentally Hazardous Substances Notification and Registration (EHSNR) system to MyEHS in 2020.
The draft regulations are based on section 51(1)(u) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, which provides for the prohibition or control of the manufacture, storage, transport, use, release or discharge of substances hazardous to the environment.
The DOE's next steps for 2026 include further legal review of the draft, the development of implementation guidance and a presentation to the Environmental Quality Council (EQC), an advisory body.