Sabah drafting environs policy

KOTA KINABALU: A STATE-LEVEL environmental policy is being drafted,  focusing on not only  enforcement  but also  creating an educated public.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said while many countries might have the laws, they don’t guarantee no offences are committed.

“You can have all the laws in the world, but if they are not followed, what good are they? The attitude must be that the people are obliged to be part of the enforcement.

“What we want is an educated public who is not only (environmentally) aware but takes action to ensure enforcement is carried out,” he said at the launch of a stakeholders’ consultation workshop on the new policy here recently.

Masidi also said the policy should be kept simple to enable the ordinary man to understand as well as make it easier to be implemented.

He said an environmental policy was crucial to serve as a framework and guideline for decision-making in modernisation and industrialisation-related matters.

He added that the new policy would be the state government’s standard operating procedures.

He was confident that it would be able to prevent, reduce and mitigate harmful effects on the environment and minimise any impact on humans.

Masidi said the new policy would be based on five elements — air, water, land, biodiversity and humans. The draft of the policy was expected to be completed by October.

Source : New Straits Times