In a statement, Peka president Rajesh Nagarajan said the initiative, applicable across all 12 local authorities in the state, would not effectively address the use of plastic bags in Selangor.

He also said the 20 sen fee for plastic bags implemented in 2020 had become “a revenue stream” for local councils, citing reports that the Selangor government collected RM38 million last year from these charges.

He also said plastic producers remained unaffected.

“Implement an outright ban on single-use plastic bags, not a tax disguised as policy,” he added.

On July 6, it was reported that the Selangor government was in the final phase of amending the relevant by-laws to standardise the implementation of its No Plastic Bag Day initiative.

State public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the move was part of a three-pronged approach to systematically and comprehensively address plastic pollution in the state.

Rajesh urged Selangor to emulate Negeri Sembilan and Penang, whose governments implemented a statewide ban on plastic bags in 2022 and March this year, respectively.

“This is what real action looks like,” he said.

He also called for legislation to halt the production of plastic bags in the state, saying the use of such bags would otherwise continue.

“A symbolic day of avoiding plastic bags is insufficient,” he said.