PLANT QUARANTINE ACT 1976

This Act shall apply throughout Malaysia.

Interpretation

the surface of the earth and all substances forming the surface;

the earth below the surface and all substances therein;

all vegetation and other natural products whether or not requiring the periodical application of labour for their production and whether on or below the surface;

all things attached to the earth, or permanently fastened to any thing attached to the earth, whether on or below the surface; and

land covered by water;

“Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for the eradication of agricultural pests and noxious plants and prevention of plant diseases;

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“noxious plant” means any plant which the Minister may by notification in the Gazette declare to be a noxious plant for purposes of this Act for the whole or any part of Malaysia and includes the seed and every part of such plant:

Provided that where the declaration of a noxious plant affects the State of Sabah or Sarawak or both such States, the Minister shall consult the State Minister charged with the responsibility for agriculture of Sabah or Sarawak or both such State Ministers, as the case may be, prior to making such declaration;

“occupier” includes a lessee or tenant or cultivator or person in actual possession, management or control of any land;

“owner” in relation to any land means any person for the time being registered as the proprietor of any land under the law relating to land applicable in the respective component regions and shall include in the case of Sarawak the holder by customary rights of any land;

“pest” means any vertebrate or invertebrate animal (including the eggs of such animal), fungus, bacterium, virus, viroid, mycoplasma-like organism, weed, or any other organism which is or is capable of being injurious to plants and includes any dangerous pest;

“plant” means any species of plant or any part thereof whether living or dead and includes the stem, branch, tuber, bulb, corn, stock, budwood, cutting, layer, slip, sucker, root, leaf, flower, fruit, seed or any other part or product whatsoever of a plant whether severed or attached but does not include any plant product that has undergone a process of heat and drying treatment;

“soil” means any earth, ground or other naturally occurring organic and mineral material in which plants may be grown.

Powers of Directors and appointment of Inspecting Officers

The Directors shall in addition to the powers conferred upon them by this Act have all the powers conferred upon an Inspecting

Officer under this Act in respect of their respective component regions.

The Directors may appoint any officers of the Department of Agriculture of the respective component regions to be Inspecting

Officers for purposes of carrying out or putting into effect the provisions of this Act in respect of the component region for which the appointments are made and the powers conferred upon an Inspecting Officer under this Act shall be construed in accordance with the provision of this subsection:

Provided that the powers conferred upon the Inspecting Officers under section 19 shall not be construed as if the exercise of such power by any of the Inspecting Officers is confined within the component region of such Inspecting Officer.

Penal Code

to inspect and examine such land and any plant thereon to ascertain whether any noxious plant or pest is present on such land or whether such land or any plant thereon is in a condition favourable to the introduction or spread of any noxious plant or pest; and

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to remove in any way such portions of any such plant as he may deem necessary for purposes of examination or investigation.

The owner or occupier of such land shall permit every

Inspecting Officer to have access thereto for the purposes specified in subsection (1) and shall supply to the Inspecting Officer all such information as may be requested by him, and shall afford the

Inspecting Officer such assistance as may be reasonably necessary for such purposes.

Power to direct destruction or treatment of plants and pests or treatment of land

If, on or as a result of any inspection or examination of land or plants by an Inspecting Officer, it appears to him that any land or plant is in a condition favourable to the introduction or spread of any pest he may, by notice in writing under his hand, served on the owner or occupier of the land whereon such condition exists, direct such owner or occupier to take within the time specified in the notice such measures as seem to the Inspecting Officer necessary or expedient for the eradication or prevention of the spread of the pest either by destruction, removal or treatment in a manner to be specified in the said notice of such plant or any other plant, or of any pest or tools or utensils or structure used for agricultural purposes on the land with a view to bringing the same into a condition not favourable to the introduction or spread of any pest.

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The cost of the measures and of the taking thereof mentioned in subsections (1) and (2) shall be defrayed by the owner or occupier of the land.

Any notice under subsection (1) or (2) shall specify a time not being less than seven days from the date of the notice within which the owner or occupier of the land may make representation in writing—

The Menteri Besar or Chief Minister of any State in Peninsular

Malaysia or the State Minister charged with the responsibility for agriculture of Sabah or Sarawak to whom representation under subsection (4) is made may confirm, or suspend the operation of the notice or cancel the notice or make such other order as he may deem fit.

Enforcement of any action required under any notice under section 6 or order under subsection 12(1)

Nothing in this section shall affect any liability of any person to prosecution and punishment under section 8 or 13.

Penalty for default

Where the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister of any State in

Peninsular Malaysia or the State Minister charged with the responsibility for agriculture of Sabah or Sarawak, as the case may be, has under subsection 6(5) made an order varying the terms of any such notice, the notice as varied shall for the purposes of this section and of section 7 be deemed to be the notice under section 6.

Power of court to order measures

If any person fails to comply with an order made under subsection (1) he shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty ringgit for every day during the continuance of such offence in addition to the respective penalty under section 8, 11 or 13.

Isolation of land

No person shall, without reasonable excuse, enter or leave any land to which an order made under subsection (1) refers and nothing shall be removed therefrom except in accordance with any directions issued by an Inspecting Officer.

Any owner or occupier of land which is placed in isolation by an order issued under subsection (1) may apply to an Inspecting

Officer to examine the land so placed under isolation with a view to obtaining amendment or revocation of the order and the Inspecting

Officer shall within seven days after receipt of such application visit and examine the said land and submit his findings and recommendations to the Director who shall then advise the Menteri

Besar, Chief Minister or the State Minister, as the case may be.

Any person who knowingly or without reasonable excuse commits a breach of of subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit.

Duty on appearance of a dangerous pest

as soon as he becomes aware that the same has been found or has appeared thereon forthwith give notice thereof in writing or otherwise to the Director or to any Inspecting

Officer with such particulars as may be prescribed;

carry into effect all instructions given to him by any

Inspecting Officer for the destruction of the dangerous pest or plants diseased by a dangerous pest on such land;

and

render all assistance in his power towards the carrying out of any action taken by any Inspecting Officer for the purpose of destroying the dangerous pest or plants diseased by a dangerous pest on such land.

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Any person who commits a breach of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit.

Any Inspecting Officer receiving any notice in accordance with paragraph (1)(a) shall inform the Director of such notice.

Power to take action against a dangerous pest

If it appears to the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister of a

State in Peninsular Malaysia or the State Minister charged with the responsibility for agriculture of Sabah or Sarawak or any Director as the case may be that the safety of plant cannot be properly ensured by the action directed to be taken under subsection (1), such Menteri Besar, Chief Minister, State Minister charged with the responsibility for agriculture or Director may forthwith direct an Inspecting Officer or any person to enter any specified land together with such other persons or with such instruments or things as may be necessary and to take or cause to be taken any specified action for the eradication, destruction or control of the dangerous pest, or the treatment of any plants or clearing of the land of any plants whether or not the dangerous pest is present on such land.

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The cost of, and all expenses incurred in such eradication, destruction, control, treatment or clearing as mentioned in subsections

and (2) shall be defrayed by the owner or occupier of the land whereon such eradication, destruction, control, treatment or clearing is carried out and where the cost and the expenses have been incurred by any person other than the owner or occupier such person may recover the cost and expenses from the owner or occupier.

Provisions as to compensation

The Director may, in his discretion, order that such compensation as he thinks fit shall be paid to the owner or occupier of any land who is required to destroy as a measure of precaution any plant thereon not being diseased.

No application for compensation shall be entertained unless it is in writing and is received in the office of the Director within three months from the date of the notice requiring the destruction of the plant, and in no case shall compensation be paid in excess of the actual value of the plant destroyed at the date of the notice.

If any question arises as to the value of a plant, such question shall be referred to and decided by the officer charged with the collecting of land revenue pursuant to any written law concerning land for the time being in force in the component region in which such plant is located and the decision of such officer shall be final and conclusive.

If in the proper exercise of their function of administering the provisions of this Act loss or damage to plants, goods, soil or other organisms occurs, the government and every person authorized under this Act shall be exempted from all claims for compensation for such loss or damage.

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Prohibition of importation or possession of noxious plants and pests

import any noxious plant;

possess or keep any noxious plant or allow the same to grow in or on any land of which he is the owner or occupier; or

import or keep any pest:

Provided that the Director may in writing exempt any person from any or all of the provisions of this section subject to such conditions as he may impose in the exemption.

Duty to destroy noxious plants

in the case of an Inspecting Officer, seize and effectively destroy such plant; and

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in the case of an officer of customs, seize and detain such plant until it is placed in the charge of an Inspecting

Officer who shall effectively destroy it.

In this section “officer of customs” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Customs Act 1967 [Act 235].

Penalty

by delivering the notice to the person;

by delivering the notice—

to his servant or to an adult member of his family at the persons’s usual or last known place of abode or business; or

by sending the notice by post to the person—

at his usual or last known abode or place of business;

or

by substituted service in accordance with section 21.

Substituted service

by affixing a copy of the notice in a conspicuous position—

on the land; and

by publishing a copy of the notice in the Gazette and, if he thinks fit, in one or more of the newspapers circulating in the component region.

Prosecution to be sanctioned by Public Prosecutor

the powers and duties of officers appointed under this

Act;

the manner of entry upon lands and the notice, if any, to be given prior to such entry;

the conduct of the examination and inspection of plants and of other proceedings authorized by this Act;

the notification by owners or occupier of land of any plant found to be diseased with a dangerous pest;

the form of notices and orders to be made by the Director or any Inspecting Officers under this Act;

the control of, and the conditions governing the import or export of pests, beneficial organisms, plants and soil for purposes of controlling and prevention of plant pests;

the control of any pest or plant present in Malaysia for purposes of the prevention of plant diseases;

the obtaining from all civil, military, naval, air, police or other organizations or forces present for the time being or established in Malaysia, of assistance directed to preventing the introduction of any dangerous pest or noxious plant or to the eradication or control of such dangerous pest or noxious plant if present in Malaysia;

the imposition of fees;

the imposition of penalties of a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit or imprisonment of not exceeding six months or both.

Where the regulations made under this section would affect

Sabah or Sarawak the Ministers charged with responsibility for agriculture of Sabah or Sarawakas the case may be, shall be consulted prior to the making of such regulations.

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Repeal and saving

any appointment made under such repealed Ordinances shall, in so far as the same is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been made under this Act; and

any notice, direction, order, regulation or rule issued or made under such repealed Ordinances shall, in so far as the same is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as if it had been issued or made under this Act.

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Act 167

LIST OF AMENDMENTS

Amending law

Short title

In force from

Act A599

Agricultural Pests and 07-09-1984

Noxious Plants

(Amendment) Act 1984

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Act 167

LIST OF SECTIONS AMENDED

Section

Amending authority

In force from

Long Title

Act A599 07-09-1984 1

Act A599 07-09-1984 2

Act A599 07-09-1984 7

Act A599 07-09-1984 8

Act A599 07-09-1984 13

Act A599 07-09-1984 19A

Act A599 07-09-1984 23

Act A599 07-09-1984

KUALA LUMPUR