Environmental Quality Act 1974 · Updated to 7 Jul 2024 · Part VI · Miscellaneous
38. Power to stop, board, search, etc.
Official textFrom Laws of Malaysia Online, unchanged
Where the Director General or any officer duly authorized in writing by him is satisfied, or has reason to believe that any person has committed an offence under this Act, he may, if in his opinion it is necessary to do so for the purpose of investigating the offence, without a warrant, stop, board and search any vehicle, ship or aircraft, or enter any premises, irrespective of whether the vehicle, ship or premises are prescribed under section 18 or otherwise, and may—
Director General
“Director General” means the Director General of Environmental Quality referred to in section 3;
inspect, examine, seize or detain any equipment, computer, or industrial plant;
inspect, examine, seize or detain any book, record, licence, permit, certificate or document relating to—
the performance or use of the equipment or industrial plant;
environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or wastes; or
any matter required to be carried on board a vehicle, ship or aircraft under this Act or under any other written law;
inspect, examine, seize or detain any scheduled wastes or environmentally hazardous substances and any vehicle or
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ship used in the conveyance of the scheduled wastes or environmentally hazardous substances;
make such enquiries and physical inspection of the ship, equipment, gear, stores and cargo as may be necessary;
make copies of, or take extracts from, any book, record or documents so seized and detained;
inspect, examine or take a sample of any substance, material or matter used, or which is likely to be used or usually used in any trade, industry or process carried on in or on the vehicle, ship, premises, or aircraft; or
take a sample of any environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or wastes that are emitted, discharged or deposited, or are likely to be emitted, discharged or deposited from the vehicle, ship, premises, or aircraft.
Terms defined in s 2
aircraft
Defined · s 2“aircraft” includes any kind of vehicle which may be used for the conveyance of passenger or goods by air;
computer
Defined · s 2“computer” means any device, identified by whatever name or description, for recording, storing, processing, retrieving or producing any information or matter, or for performing any one or more of those functions; and, where two or more computers carry out any one or more of those functions in combination, conjointly, or in succession, they shall be treated as a single computer;
Director General
Defined · s 2“Director General” means the Director General of Environmental Quality referred to in section 3;
document
Defined · s 2“document” means any matter expressed, described, or represented in whatever manner, upon any substance, material, thing or article, including any matter embodied in a disc, tape, film, sound track or device, by means of— (a) any letter, figure, mark, symbol, signal, sign or any other form of expression, description or representation; (b) a visual recording (whether of any still or moving image); (c) a sound recording, or any electronic, magnetic, mechanical or other recording, or by any sound, electronic impulse or other data; or (d) a recording, or transmission, over a distance of any matter by any, or any combination, of the means mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or in this paragraph;
environmentally hazardous substances
Defined · s 2“environmentally hazardous substances” means any natural or artificial substances including any raw material, whether in a solid, semi-solid or liquid form, or in the form of gas or vapour, or in a mixture of at least two of these substances, or any living organism intended for any environmental protection, conservation and control activity, which can cause pollution;
industrial plant
Defined · s 2“industrial plant” means any plant used for the generation of power or for any industrial use or for the operation of ships, dredges, locomotives, cranes or other machines;
pollutants
Defined · s 2“pollutants” means any natural or artificial substances, whether in a solid, semi-solid or liquid form, or in the form of gas or vapour, or in a mixture of at least two of these substances, or any objectionable odour or noise or heat emitted, discharged or deposited or is likely to be emitted, discharged or deposited from any source which can directly or indirectly cause pollution and includes any environmentally hazardous substances;
premises
Defined · s 2“premises” includes messuages, buildings, lands, and hereditaments of every tenure and any machinery or plant;
prescribed
Defined · s 2“prescribed” means prescribed by or under this Act or continued in operation by this Act;
scheduled wastes
Defined · s 2“scheduled wastes” means any waste prescribed by the Minister in the regulations as scheduled wastes;
ship
Defined · s 2“ship” includes every description of vessel or craft or floating structure;
trade
Defined · s 2“trade” means any trade, business or undertaking whether ordinarily carried on at fixed premises or at varying places which results in the discharge of wastes and includes any activity prescribed to be a trade, business or undertaking for the purposes of this Act;
vehicle
Defined · s 2“vehicle” means a structure capable of moving or being moved or used for the conveyance of any person or thing and which maintains contact with the ground when in motion;