UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA

ACADEMIC ENGLISH (UWB 10102)

SEMESTER 2 SESI 2015/16

Article Review
Written Assignment, Individual Work
Full Marks: 30 %

PREPARED FOR:
MADAM AFFAH BT MOHD APANDI
PREPARED BY:
AMIR HAMZAH BIN ABD RASHID
MATRIC NO.:
DN150243
SECTION:
21
COURSE:
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY (BNN)

UWB10102

ACADEMIC ENGLISH

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ARTICLE REVIEW
P. Agamuthu, S.H. Fauziah, K. Khidzir, (2009). Evolution of solid waste
management in Malaysia: impact and implications of the solid waste bill,
2007, The Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2009), 11: pp
96103.
Introduction
The article chosen is Evolution of solid waste management in Malaysia: impact and
implications of the solid waste bill, 2007 written by Agamuthu Periathamby, Fauziah Shahul
Hamid, and Kahlil Khidzir (2009) discuss on solid waste generation and its implications for
people and environment, generally in Malaysia. Malaysia is developing rapidly and problem
such as the waste generation associated with development and industrialization are evident.
Summary article
As indicated in the article, the issue highlighted is a solid waste generation and its implication
for people and environment. Explanation the main features of this all- encompassing kill and
its impact on the waste management scenario in Malaysia. The worlds population has
increase, then the solid waste generate also increase in tremendous amount. This article also
discusses trend and the current waste management system in Malaysia, presents the impacts
and implication of solid waste and compares the future waste management scenario in
Malaysia with three other Asian countries.
Critical reflection
Solid waste is inevitable because by nature every human activity generates a certain amount
of solid waste. The rate of solid waste generated tends to increase with the increase in
population. Despite existence of various efforts on solid waste collection, still the quantity of
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solid waste collected is small compared to the solid waste generated. The situation is even
worse in unplanned settlements of developing countries, where, ineffective solid waste
collection is contributed to by haphazard solid waste disposal and hence environmental
pollution. Therefore, having an effective and efficient solid waste management system is a
major challenge in cities of developing countries, and thus more consulted efforts are needed.
The study explored the main features of this all-encompassing bill and its impacts on the
waste management scenario in Malaysia.
The impacts and implications of solid waste generation for this study impressed me as
Agamuthu Periathamby, Fauziah Shahul Hamid, and Kahlil Khidzir, attempts to explore on
waste generation trends in Malaysia with a condition of technologies and facilities are
insufficient to cope with the ever-increasing rate of waste generation. The researcher provides
the article with data that collected in several year from past research to make article more
strengthened with proof that has complementary strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses.
However, due to the lack of proper data collection, the actual figures for worldwide waste
generation are not available.
It is observed that in this article, in Malaysia, generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) has
increased more than 91% over the past 10 years, due, in particular, to the rapid development
of urban areas, ruralurban migration, increase in per-capita income, and the change in
consumption patterns brought about by development. The urban population, which
constitutes more than 65% of the total population, is the main waste generator. Based on, the
graph and data that collected, the increasing trend could be the result of changes in
consumption habits as well as the increasing affordability of consumer goods.
Therefore, in order to increase efficiency further for solid waste management, Malaysia have
developed solid waste management programs in phases and the government have delegated

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waste management to four private consortia. However, privatization did not really solve the
issues, but only transferred the problems from local authorities to the private companies. The
steady increase in municipal solid waste generation over the years resulted in governmentfunded public information campaigns to establish awareness and to create environmental
consciousness among the general public. However, due to minimal responses from the
general public, the campaigns failed, although environmental awareness and knowledge on
waste management among the public did increase slightly.
Then, the article also raised the issue lack of appropriate policy is the main constraint to
sustainable waste management in Malaysia. As a result, the Solid Waste and Public
Cleansing Management Bill (SWPCM) was approved in 2007. Its aims are to provide an act
and regulate the management of solid waste and public cleansing in order to maintain proper
sanitation in the country. The Bill provides for the administrative bodies authorized in MSW
management and the tribunal for solid waste management services. However, the majority of
the public (69%) are not aware of the existence of SWPCM Bill 2007 and its passing by the
parliament in August 2007. This is mainly due to the absence of notification to the general
public from the ministry level.
In regards to opinion of current waste management in the country, 86% is satisfied while 14%
are not satisfied. The high satisfactory level probably is related to the fact that only reliable
waste management contractors are appointed and renewed after an interim period. Contracts
of waste managers with high number of complaints will not be renewed and they are directed
to stop their collection services. Since the passing of the Bill, government had declared that
unsatisfactory contractors will be terminated from their contract once the SWPCM Bill 2007
is enforced (Agamuthu, 2009a). Therefore, small and medium scale waste contractors have
high tendency to maintain good rapport in order to ensure that their services and contract will
be prolonged.
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Public in Malaysia has relatively high knowledge on the current issues of waste management.
However, the majority was not aware of the existing and the passing of the SWPCM Bill
2007. Though the Bill is not well-known to the public in general, the public agreed that the
Bill will improve the efficiency of the current waste management system once it is
implemented. They also agreed that it will promote a more sustainable waste management
system in Malaysia.
Conclusion
Agamuthu Periathamby, Fauziah Shahul Hamid, and Kahlil Khidzir have presented a realistic
research that solid waste generation and its implications for people and the environment are
important global issue. With an exponentially increasing population, it is even more
important to be considerate about how well individuals take care of the planet. Land is
limited, resources are limited, and the health of the plant can only be hurt to a limited extent.
As more and more waste is generated yearly, it is evident that this increasing trend is
unacceptable in the long run. Landfills and recycling can only temporarily mitigate the
immediate consequences of this large waste production. However, if the problem of
municipal solid waste is to be truly addressed, the root of the issue must be looked at first. If
less waste is generated in the first place, the challenge of finding environmentally feasible
ways of disposing of waste will be much easier.

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References
Agamuthu P, Fauziah SH, Noorazamimah Aiza A, Suhaila MO (2006) Recycling of
municipal solid waste: is it sustainable? Presented at: The Green Chemistry
Conference, Malaysian Institute of Chemistry, Kuala Lumpur, September 1921,
2006.
Agamuthu P (2001) Solid waste: principle and management. University of Malaya Press,
Kuala Lumpur, pp 927.
Fauziah SH, Simon C, Agamuthu P (2004) Municipal solid waste management in Malaysia
possibility of improvement? Malays J Sci 23(2):6170.
Solid

Waste

and

Public

Cleansing

Management

Corporation

Bill

2007.

http://www.parlimen.gov.my/billindexbi/pdf/DR%20262007E.pdf. Accessed January

19, 2009.