Jamaliah Gets To Grips With Selangor Environment Challenges

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INTERVIEW | Second-term state assemblyperson Jamaliah Jamaluddin has experienced a meteoric rise over the last few years.
She was appointed a Petaling Jaya City Council councillor in 2016, elected Bandar Utama assemblyperson in 2018, and took over one of Selangor’s hot seats when she was given the Public Health, Environment, Climate Change, and Green Technology portfolio last August.
With constant battles over deforestation, declining air quality, and plastic factory pollution, this is no cushy job, and just last week, Jamaliah felt the heat as the state had yet another water disruption.
Air Selangor had to temporarily shut down four water treatment plants in the state due to odour pollution at Sungai Kundang and Sungai Sembah, causing unscheduled disruptions in several locations.
Eventually, the Selayang Municipal Council suspended the licence of the factory responsible and fined its owner RM1,000, although Jamaliah emphasised that the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) is also completing its investigation under Section 79(1) of the Luas Enactment 1999 – where those involved can be fined between RM200,000 and RM1 million, and face imprisonment of not more than three years.
She told Malaysiakini this was an issue that has particularly challenged both her and her predecessors.
“We sympathise with the people of Selangor but much education and enforcement needs to be done before these disruptions can be put behind us.
“A single term isn’t that long, so we need to prioritise and make quick changes as we go along.
“Firstly, we’re establishing a Climate Change Education Centre. This is crucial because climate change is a complex topic that requires a deep understanding,” said Jamaliah.
The DAP politician said the centre will draw up measures to address climate change and will focus on nine sectors, including water sources, agriculture, health, land use, waste management, and transportation.
“We want to maintain green cover areas in the state at no less than 30 percent and we have a project to plant 11 million trees. There is also the project to install solar panels on state government buildings to move to different energy sources.
“We aim to gather knowledgeable and experienced individuals to lead various projects under this centre. This will provide a concrete structure for discussions and initiatives on climate change.
“Often, agencies or even the exco’s (executive councillor’s) office don’t communicate effectively on interconnected issues, so this centre will help address that,” she added.
E-waste management
Jamaliah also highlighted that another of her goals is to raise awareness about e-waste management. As such, she kicked off a pilot e-waste collection project at participating petrol stations in Bandar Utama.
“Many people frequently change gadgets but don’t consider the long-term impact of disposing of these items.
“We recently launched our e-waste promotion programme in collaboration with an NGO and Maxis.
“The goal is to emphasise that e-waste management is as important as traditional recycling efforts,” she said.
She said her administration is currently running a collection programme where, if you have at least five items, they will collect them from your house for free and offer some payment in return.
“For fewer items, we’re exploring options like drop-off points at post offices.
“Our website, www.lestari.com, provides all the necessary information and offers additional cashback promotions to encourage participation.
“We’re also exploring the potential for green job opportunities through this programme. Similar to Grab drivers, individuals would be hired to collect e-waste, creating a green job market,” she added.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jamaliah Jamaluddin (@jamaliahjamaluddin_)
As a long-time resident, Jamaliah said she understands the frustration of Selangor citizens having to cope with many water cuts over the years.
She is counting on the zero discharge policy to help safeguard water levels and quality at Selangor’s seven dams.
“Under the zero discharge policy, we measure the effluent from each industry and charge them, not just for revenue but to gather data on different types of effluent.”
Reducing plastic use
“On July 20 and 21, we just hosted our first Pesta Alam Sekitar carnival event, focusing on how to free ourselves from plastic,” Jamaliah said.
“It featured booths from government agencies and NGOs promoting sustainability and recycling education.
“One of our key focuses is on the 5 Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot. People often talk about recycling but forget the importance of refusing and reducing.
“For instance, saying no to plastic and using reusable bags or changing our lifestyle is more effective than just finding ways to recycle. There are many angles we can focus on instead of just recycling,” she said.
Jamaliah said that as most regulations can only be implemented by the federal government, her office has been engaging with the office of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
“This is to stay updated on their progress with the policy to reverse plastic use, but it will take some time.
“Meanwhile, within the state, we are focusing on raising awareness and considering other implementations, like increasing plastic prices or having plastic-free days during weekends.
“We haven’t implemented these from the beginning because we want to ensure successful execution and we’ve had numerous discussions with the Department of Legal Affairs, the Land Office, and local governments,” she added.
She said this is because they will deal with retailers, cafes, supermarkets, and hypermarkets.
“We are preparing workshops to engage with local governments and have been in discussions with the state government to finalise our plans.
“In the meantime, we continue to engage with the public to gather their opinions and are collaborating with a medical centre to run surveys on state initiatives,” she said.
Communicating with predecessors
Jamaliah said she keeps in touch and communicates with her predecessors in the Selangor environment portfolio, Elizabeth Wong and Hee Loy Sian.
“I recently spoke to Wong to see if there are any interesting initiatives she wants to collaborate on,” she said, referring to the former three-term Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson from PKR.
“We need to maintain communication with our predecessors for their knowledge and experience and to understand what has happened previously.
“For instance, with recent complaints from the public, we referred to Hee to understand the background,” she said of the former PKR MP and assemblyperson.
“Because when you take office, you start with a clean slate and rely on agency reports, which can sometimes be inaccurate.
“Both of them have been very helpful in helping me understand various issues from their perspectives. This is our challenge, to ensure a better life and future for us all,” she said.
This is part 1 of a three-part interview with Jamaliah.
- Mkini

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