KUALA LUMPUR: The Department of Environment (DoE) will be allocated more funding in the 2024 Budget to increase its workforce - namely involving enforcement - and for more equipment, said its director-general Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaafar.
Speaking to reporters at a media engagement event here today, Wan Latiff said that currently, there are only 1,500 personnel serving at various DoE regional and district offices nationwide.
"At present, we don't have enough staff, especially in enforcement to deal with the many complaints and reports we get regarding pollution and offences related to the environment.
"Based on the causes of pollution in this country, there's a lot that's happening out there. We simply cannot handle the volume of complaints we get now.
"We have requested for additional funding under the coming (2024) Budget. We'll be adding about 3000 more personnel to our workforce to cater to the preservation and upkeep of our environment," he said.
He said the DoE receives numerous complaints on improper toxic waste management, where after conducting checks, multiple factories have been reported to dump toxic waste into rivers as well as contributing to air pollution.
Commenting on the current haze situation, Wan Latiff said continuous monitoring is being done by both the DoE and the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry with regular updates by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) on air quality readings.