THE authorities will go after a few supermarkets which had collected money from the sale of plastic bags at 20sen each for three years but did not hand the collections to them.
State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said they have identified the culprits and warned them that they might have their operating licences revoked.
Phee said the supermarkets involved claimed there was no such law (to hand over the money) as the money they collected could be used for charitable events they organised.
“I say to them that (handing over the money) is part and parcel of your licence. I want them to stop the nonsense,” Phee told a press conference after opening a dialogue session on ‘Say No to Plastic Straws & Single-use Plastics’ at Komtar today.
“If you come to Penang and want to earn a living, you have to respect our policies. We’ve identified them. There is a very high possibility of us revoking their licences.”
Money collected from the sale of plastic bags is meant for the ‘Partners Against Poverty’ special fund to help the destitute poor.
On another matter, Phee also said the state legal advisers would also look into amending outdated bylaws. A case in point was the paltry RM1,000 fine on a landowner in Bukit Teh on June 27 for allowing his land to be turned into an illegal dumping site.
The court decision was criticised by many quarters, including state executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo who described it as a ‘slap on the wrist’.
Phee said discussions were underway with the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry (MESTECC) and the Housing and Local Government Ministry to come up with a federal enactment for stiffer penalties.
While looking at a uniform law for all states, Phee said the Quality Act may include RM1,000 a day compound and a maximum fine of RM500,000 for illegal operators.
“It’s just only the compound we are looking at. We want offenders to serve time. We want both together. Sometimes, the lorry drivers may claim they dumped waste illegally because they were under instructions. So, we have to go after the major shareholders to ensure that the directors or managers toe the line,” Phee stressed.
He said waste buried underneath the sand may lead to underground water pollution.
Citing Mexico where a dead zone occurs due to the bad nutrients that came to the sea, Phee said Penang would be conducting a survey on the water contents at the rivers, seas and land slopes.
“Penang is the first state to get approval from the exco (executive council) to establish a special committee (to look into the matter).
“We want to take samples of the waterways in Penang and build data. We want to check on the discharge from aquaculture industries and the use of pesticides,” he said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud