ASEAN 2025: MALAYSIA TO RAISE PLASTICS POLLUTION ISSUE - NIK NAZMI

PUTRAJAYA, July 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will raise the issue of plastics pollution plaguing the world when it hosts the ASEAN Summit 2025, said Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

He said the proposal to voice the issue had been expressed to ASEAN deputy secretary-general (Socio-Cultural Community) Ekkaphab Phanthavong in a meeting yesterday.

"We have voiced, among other (Malaysia's) proposals, the cross-border haze which is always the focus of environmental issues in ASEAN. We want to look at the issue of plastics pollution because this is not just a problem that plagues Malaysia,” he said in a press conference after inaugurating the the National Drone Symposium 2024 here today.

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"If you look...Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries are also facing the problem of plastics pollution."

Nik Nazmi also said that the issue of plastics pollution requires the cooperation of all ASEAN countries.

"We know that if we move as one nation, we may be too small to get attention but if we move as an ASEAN region with 670 million people, then we will get the attention of the world community.

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"We are working hard to find a comprehensive solution," he added.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) was conducting research related to the presence of new pollutants on water quality in several river basins in Malaysia under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Fadillah, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said the contaminants in question include endocrine disruptors (EDCs), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and also microplastics.

"The WHO (World Health Organisation) defines microplastics as plastic fragments less than 5mm in size, that enter the river system through various pathways, mainly surface water runoff, wastewater effluents (both treated and untreated), industrial effluents and decomposed plastic waste.

Previously, Nik Nazmi was reported to have that the government is considering the introduction of specific laws to deal with the problem of plastics dumping and pollution which was a major issue in Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA