3.

Local Safety Regulations and Design Guidelines

3.4.1

Malaysian Environment Laws and Regulations

The Malaysian Government had placed great emphasis on the environmental condition in this
country. The Government has established the necessary legal and institutional arrangements for
environmental protection. The objectives of national environmental policy in Malaysia as the
following:

to maintain a clean and healthy environment;

to maintain the quality of the environment relative to the needs of the growing
population;

to minimize the impact of the growing population and human activities relating to
mineral

exploration,

deforestation,

agriculture,

urbanization,

tourism

and

the

development of other resources on the environment.

to incorporate an environmental dimension in project planning and implementation, inter

alia by determining the implication of the proposed projects and the costs of the required
environmental mitigation measures through the conduct of Environmental Impact
Assessment Studies; and

To promote greater co-operation and increased co-ordination among relevant Federal and
State authorities as well as among ASEAN Governments.
The Environmental Quality Act 1974 and its associated regulations necessitate

Environmental Impact Assessment, project sitting evaluation, pollution control, monitoring and
self-enforcement. Its stated in the act that industrial plant means any plant used for the
generation of power or for any industrial use or for the operation of ships, dredges, locomotives,
cranes or other machines (EQA 1974).
Local safety and environmental regulations must be complied with when developing new plant,
in order to ensure safe workplace and prevent accidents or any environmental pollution that can

adversely affect the whole plant operation as well as the surroundings. Listed below are several
related acts and regulations for compliance:
The relevant law and regulations that need to be complied are as follows:
a)

Environmental Quality Act 1974

b)

Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 1978

c)

Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 1979

d)

Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes)(Amendment) Regulations 2007

e) Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes Treatment and Disposal Facilities) (Prescribed
Premises) Regulations 1989

f)

Environmental Quality (Licensing) Regulations 1977

g)

Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) Regulations 1986

h) Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) 1994 (The Control of Industrial Major Accident
Hazards)
i)

Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals

Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000

j)

Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging and Labeling of Hazardous

Chemicals) Regulations 1997

k)

Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence,

Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004

3.4.2

Design Guidelines

3.4.2.1 The Factories and Machinery Act 1967

This Act was effectively enacted on 1st February 1970. The objective of the Factories and
Machinery Act (FMA) 1967 is to provide for the control of factories on matters relating to the
safety, health and welfare of persons, and the registration and inspection of machinery. Some
high risk machinery such as boilers, unfired pressure vessels, passenger lifts and other lifting
equipment such as mobile cranes, tower cranes, passenger hoists, overhead traveling cranes and
gondolas, must be certified and inspected by Department of Occupational Safety and Health
(DOSH). All factories and general machinery must be registered with DOSH before they can be
installed and operated in Malaysia.

The regulations under FMA that is relevant are (FMA, 1967):

1) Certificates of Competency - Examination, 1970
2) Electric Passenger and Goods Lift Regulations, 1970
3) Fencing of Machinery and Safety Regulations, 1970
4) Notification, Certificate of Fitness and Inspection Regulations, 1970
5) Persons-In-Charge Regulations, 1970
6) Safety, Health and Welfare Regulations, 1970
7) Steam Boilers and Unfired Pressure Vessel Regulations, 1970
8) Certificates of Competency-Examinations Regulations, 1970
9) Administration Regulations, 1970
10) Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction (Safety) Regulations,
1986
11) Mineral Dust Regulations, 1989
12) Noise Exposure Regulations, 1989
13) Notification, Certificate of Fitness and Inspection (Amendment) Regulations, 2004
The FMA provides a very technical requirement, which to be implemented in the plant.
Activities which require special knowledge must be supervised by designated competent persons.
Safety supervisors are required to be appointed to ensure compliance of safety regulation besides
forming of safety committee (FMA, 1967).