Reference source : MyEHS
Malaysia’s Department of Environment, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, has opened an online public consultation on the draft Environmental Quality (Environmentally Hazardous Substances) Regulations 202X, also referred to as PPKAS (EHS) 202X.
The consultation runs from 22 June 2026 to 22 July 2026 and is at the finalisation stage. The draft is intended to strengthen Malaysia’s control of Environmentally Hazardous Substances (EHS), particularly for industries involved in importing, exporting and manufacturing hazardous substances.
The draft regulations are designed to regulate the import, export and manufacturing of scheduled EHS in Malaysia. The consultation document states that the rules aim to introduce more systematic management and reduce environmental pollution risks through tighter controls, including registration, inventory and monitoring requirements for scheduled EHS.
The framework is built around the Environmental Quality Act 1974, particularly Section 51(1)(u), which supports controls over the manufacture, storage, transport, use, release and placement into the environment of substances hazardous to the environment.
The draft framework covers four main activities:
The draft divides EHS into three main schedules:
| Schedule | Regulatory meaning |
|---|---|
| First Schedule | Prohibited EHS |
| Second Schedule | Controlled EHS |
| Third Schedule | EHS from unintentional production |
The consultation document also identifies priority sources for scheduled EHS, including the Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention, Minamata Convention, EU PIC Regulation 649/2012, and any substance of concern determined by the Director General.
The draft framework would use the MyEHS system as the main regulatory platform. The consultation material identifies key MyEHS functions including company registration, scheduled EHS inventory, export notification, import response, explicit consent, customs-related review letters, written approval, and risk prioritisation.
This indicates a shift from voluntary information collection toward a more formal notification and inventory-based compliance system.
For prohibited EHS under the First Schedule, no person may import, export or manufacture the listed substance in Malaysia.
For controlled EHS under the Second Schedule, importers and exporters would need to notify the Director General and obtain written approval before moving the substance into or out of Malaysia. The Director General may suspend or cancel the approval if the submitted information is inaccurate.
Manufacturers of Second Schedule EHS would also need to notify the Director General at least 30 days before manufacturing the scheduled substance.
For Third Schedule EHS, persons undertaking activities that unintentionally release or generate scheduled EHS would need to notify the Director General and submit an action plan for reduction or elimination. The consultation material indicates that this notification and action plan must be submitted before 31 December each year.
Regulated parties would also be required to keep notification records and related information for three years and make them available for inspection by the Director General. Workers involved in managing or handling scheduled EHS would need to attend appropriate training programmes.
The draft provides for penalties for violations of key obligations. The consultation material indicates that offences may result in a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both, with additional daily penalties for continuing offences. Certain offences may also be compounded under Section 45 of the Act.
The draft regulations are highly relevant for chemical manufacturers, importers, exporters, distributors, downstream users, waste-related operators and companies handling substances linked to POPs, mercury, PIC chemicals, persistent pollutants and other environmentally hazardous substances.
Companies should begin reviewing whether any substances in their portfolio may fall under the proposed EHS schedules, particularly substances linked to international control regimes such as Stockholm, Rotterdam and Minamata.
If adopted, the draft PPKAS (EHS) Regulations would represent a major step in Malaysia’s chemical control framework. The regime would introduce a more structured EHS notification and inventory system, strengthen DOE oversight, and create new compliance expectations for import, export, manufacturing, unintentional production, recordkeeping and training.
Businesses should prepare early by mapping substance inventories, checking convention-linked chemicals, reviewing import/export routes, confirming MyEHS readiness, and preparing internal records to support future notification or written approval requirements.