FMT / December 8, 2021
Ulu Muda Basin Authority not for us to decide, says ministry
PETALING JAYA: The environment and water ministry has rejected a proposal to set up a Ulu Muda Basin Authority, saying land and water are state matters.
The Penang Water Supply Corporation had proposed the authority, which it said should be an independent statutory body parked under the ministry, to preserve the Ulu Muda water catchment area.
This follows the recent announcement by the Kedah government that it would be opening 25,000ha of the reserve for logging activities.
In a written reply to Chow Kon Yeow (PH-Tanjong), who asked what action was being taken to preserve the Ulu Muda forest reserve, the ministry said it would be seen as encroaching on the states’ powers if it set up the authority.
It called on the Penang and Kedah governments to resolve the water issue between themselves through negotiations to identify the best solutions, saying it would be ready to play the mediator role.
On climate change, the ministry told Wong Hon Wai (PH-Bukit Bendera) it was in the early stages of developing the framework for the country’s climate change laws.
The framework, expected to be completed early next year, would be fundamental to the development of the Climate Change Act, expected to be tabled in Parliament in 2025.
The ministry also said it was amending the Biosafety Act 2007 (Act 678) to create specific provisions on liability and redress that would provide the affected parties the right to make claims to the responsible parties. The revision and amendments were expected to be completed by mid-2023.
The Biosafety Act empowers the ministry’s biosafety department to enforce and regulate the release, import, export and limited usage of living modified organisms (LMO) created from modern biotechnology.
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