Latest news with #Order2025
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Environmental Quality Order 2025 enforcement begins today
KUALA LUMPUR: The Environmental Quality (Delegation of Powers to Government Departments, Local Authorities and Corporations) Order 2025 is now in force after being gazetted yesterday. The Department of Environment (DOE) confirmed the enforcement today, marking a significant step in streamlining environmental protection efforts. DOE director-general Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar explained that delegating powers to multiple agencies will enhance efficiency in addressing environmental violations. He cited the success of recent operations, stating, 'The effectiveness of this approach can be seen in the implementation of two series of Op Hazard, where with the cooperation of various departments and agencies, we managed to seize e-waste worth over RM66 million.' The new order consolidates six previous regulations to simplify enforcement and accelerate on-ground actions. Agencies granted authority under the order include the Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Armed Forces, Health Ministry, Marine Department, Fisheries Department, Fire and Rescue Department, and selected local authorities and corporations. To ensure smooth implementation, guidelines and specialised training will be provided to all involved agencies. This will clarify their responsibilities and jurisdictional limits, preventing overlaps or gaps in enforcement. - Bernama
Daily Maverick
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
‘I am deeply ashamed' — Peter Hain breaks with Starmer government's ban on Palestine Action
Former anti-apartheid activist Peter Hain voted against the banning order issued against Palestine Action in the House of Lords last week. The order came into force on Saturday. Peter Hain, the former anti-apartheid activist and now a British Labour lord, has broken with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government over its banning of the activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. Hain, who grew up in South Africa, voted against the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025 — which proscribes Palestine Action and two right-wing extremist groups — when it came before the House of Lords on Thursday, after passing the House of Commons on Wednesday. The House of Lords also passed the Bill, and after the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal to block the ban on Friday, it came into effect on Saturday. That day, the police detained 29 individuals in London on Saturday on suspicion of terrorism-related offences for holding a demonstration in support of Palestine Action. The decision to ban Palestine Action followed vandalism by its members of two Voyager refuelling planes at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 20 June by spraying paint into their engines, resulting in about $9.5-million of damage. Palestine Action said the aircraft had been involved in Israel's bombing of Gaza. Hain told his fellow lords that in 1969-70, 'I was proud to lead a militant campaign of direct action to disrupt all-white racist South African rugby and cricket tours, and we succeeded in getting them stopped for two decades. 'No doubt I would have been stigmatised as a terrorist today rather than vilified, as indeed I then was. 'That militant action could have been blocked by this motion, as could other anti-apartheid activity, including militant protests to stop Barclays Bank recruiting new students on university campuses, eventually forcing Barclays to withdraw from apartheid South Africa. Nelson Mandela 'Remember also that Nelson Mandela was labelled a 'terrorist' by the apartheid government, by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, by the United States and other Western governments during much of the Cold War. 'Mandela even remained on the US terrorism watchlist until 2008, many years after becoming South Africa's first democratically elected president and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.' Hain noted that the suffragettes had gained iconic status and were treated as heroines today. 'Yet they could have been suppressed under this proscription. They used violence against property in a strategic manner to demand voting rights for women as part of civil disobedience protests when their peaceful protests seemed futile. 'They intended to highlight the injustice of denying women the vote and to provoke a reaction that kept the issue in the public eye. Like Nelson Mandela, they were vilified at the time, including in strident denunciations by members of this House. 'Suffragettes attacked shop windows, government buildings and political party offices, sometimes using hammers, stones or iron bars. 'They also set fire to unoccupied buildings such as churches, railway stations, sports pavilions and empty country houses, intending to cause material loss without causing injury. 'Suffragettes cut telegraph and telephone wires to disrupt government and commercial operations. 'They even hid small homemade bombs inside mailboxes and attempted to bomb Westminster Abbey and Prime Minister David Lloyd George's uncompleted house. Criminal damage 'Frankly, Palestine Action members spraying paint on military aircraft at Brize Norton seems positively moderate by comparison. And those alleged to have done this are being prosecuted for criminal damage, as indeed they should be. 'There are plenty of criminal offences which such activity could attract rather than treating young people as terrorists because they feel frustrated about the failure to stop mass killings and bombings of Palestinians in Gaza.' Hain stressed that he supported the right of Israel to exist and of Israelis to enjoy full security. 'I am also a long-standing supporter of Palestinian rights to self-determination in their own state. 'I was vehemently opposed to widespread anti-Semitism tolerated under Jeremy Corbyn's ill-fated Labour leadership.' Hain deplored that the Labour Party government was now putting Palestine Action in the same category as 'real terrorists: Al-Qaeda and Islamic State', which had killed thousands of people in terror attacks. 'Nazi-like US racists and, here in the UK, the IRA, also committed terrible atrocities, targeting or killing innocent civilians, properly and rightly labelled 'terrorists'. 'This government is treating Palestine Action as equivalent to Islamic State or Al-Qaeda, which is intellectually bankrupt, politically unprincipled and morally wrong. 'Frankly, I am deeply ashamed,' he said. DM
The Star
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
INTERACTIVE: Stricter rules on plastic waste imports
A worker opening the container of the seized plastic waste at Westport in Port Klang. — KK SHAM/The Star PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has tightened imports of plastic waste, a move hailed by campaigners as a major step in protecting human health and the environment. Under the updated Customs (Prohibition of Imports) (Amendment) Order 2025, which took effect on July 1, all imports of plastic waste involving waste, parings and scraps of plastics, must adhere to stricter rules and receive approval from government-owned certification body Sirim Bhd. Billed as RM9.73 for the 1st month then RM13.90 thereafters. RM12.33/month RM8.63/month Billed as RM103.60 for the 1st year then RM148 thereafters. Free Trial For new subscribers only
The Star
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
A lid on plastic waste imports
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has tightened imports of plastic waste, a move hailed by campaigners as a major step in protecting human health and the environment. Under the updated Customs (Prohibition of Imports) (Amendment) Order 2025, which took effect on July 1, all imports of plastic waste involving waste, parings and scraps, must adhere to stricter rules and receive approval from government-owned certification body Sirim Bhd. Sirim's guidelines state that only countries that are parties to the Basel Convention – an international treaty governing the transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes – or countries with specific agreements with Malaysia will be allowed to export plastic waste into the country. 'These stricter regulations are very much welcomed. 'It is important to acknowledge the Malaysian government's leadership in making this difficult decision (despite the protests of the industry) to prioritise human and environmental health,' said Wong Pui Yi, a researcher at waste trade watchdog Basel Action Network. Malaysia is a major destination for plastic waste from developed countries amid growing concern over the health and environment consequences of improperly regulated waste recycling. According to figures from the International Trade Centre – a joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations – Malaysia was the sixth biggest importer of plastic waste last year, with 431,500 tonnes of imports. One of the countries affected by Malaysia's stricter controls is the United States, which has not ratified the Basel Convention. According to Wong, 191 countries have ratified or acceded to the Basel Convention, adding that the United States is the only major country that has not ratified it. The Los Angeles Times reported that Malaysia's move could have significant consequences for California, which shipped 864 shipping containers of plastic waste to Malaysia in 2024. Malaysia, the report said, emerged as a major destination for US plastic waste after China banned American waste imports in 2018. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) said it welcomed the stricter controls imposed by Malaysia. 'We greatly appreciate that the Malaysian government has taken steps against the environmental injustices associated with global waste trade. 'We hope that with stricter enforcement, it will help end the harm to public health and the environment caused by waste trade and toxic recycling,' said SAM president Meenakshi Raman. Meanwhile, Wong said rich, developed, industrialised countries including Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada export thousands of tonnes of plastic waste every year. This practice of exporting waste has allowed rich countries to continue high levels of plastic consumption without addressing the issue that many types of plastics are either not economically viable or too technically challenging to be recycled. 'The rich countries need to find better ways to deal with their own plastic waste, including, importantly, to prevent and minimise plastic waste by capping plastic production, improving product design and creating systems that move away from single-use disposables,' said Wong. She said that in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia follows Thailand and Indonesia, which have also banned plastic waste imports. 'We hope Malaysia will bring this ambition to the negotiations towards a global agreement to end plastic pollution, taking place in August,' Wong said.
The National
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
20 to protest Palestine Action ban at Gandhi Statue on July 5
Campaign group Defend Our Juries has said the action will be the first in a series, and every week, "more people will show their support for freedom of expression". It comes after the legislation naming Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was supported by the Commons, with just 26 MPs voting against the move – although six of these were part of a double vote, which was done as an abstention. The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025 is now expected to be debated and voted on by the House of Lords on Thursday before it becomes law. READ MORE: Rage at a Kneecap gig but not Chris Brown's is Scotland's national shame The protest will take place on Saturday, July 5, at 1pm, in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square. Activists will hold signs saying, 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' Thousands of people and organisations, including the Network for Police Monitoring and the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, four UN special rapporteurs, and 266 solicitors, barristers and legal academics, have condemned this decision from the Home Office. The group hope to create a dilemma for UK law enforcement, calling the law change "unenforceable". The group stated: "If they are arrested and charged with Terrorism Act offences, for a statement opposing the genocide of Palestinians, and supporting those who resist it, it will expose the end of democracy and free speech in the UK. "If they do not get arrested, they demonstrate that you cannot, in practice, proscribe a popular organisation like Palestine Action and stop hundreds of thousands of people across the country from supporting them." Tim Crosland, is a former government lawyer and director of Plan B, a charity that supports strategic legal action against climate change. He is set to take part. 'There are already 18 Palestine Actionists held in UK prisons without a trial, following lobbying by the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, the leading supplier of the machinery of genocide," Crosland said. "If we cannot speak freely about the genocide of Palestinians, if we cannot condemn those who enable it and praise those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy in this country is dead.' Leigh Evans, an emergency support worker, who is also taking part said: 'I'm joining the Palestine Action and Defend Our Juries action due to the fact that I've seen the genocide in Gaza, and the apartheid and genocide in the rest of Palestine, and it's the most horrific thing I've ever seen in 30 years of emergency work worldwide.' READ MORE: There will be an 'alternative' to Labour at next election, says Jeremy Corbyn Anthony Harvey, a retired telecommunications and electrical engineer will be at the protest and he added: "I just had to stand with Defend Our Juries against this Orwellian government actively aiding and abetting the Israeli government's genocide on the Palestinian people while attempting to ban the wonderful self-sacrificing group Palestine Action who are clearly too often successful for them in slowing this country's flow of arms to that genocide". And Melanie Griffith, an advanced nurse practitioner will take part. She said: 'I can no longer stand by as this government strips our democracy out from under us. Peaceful protest has to be the cornerstone of our society, as without it, we will be sliding into an authoritarian regime. I have much to lose, but willingly offer it up to defend our freedom to create the society in which we want to live."
