MACC chief Azam Baki said it would allow evaluation of their economic, environmental and enforcement implications.

He also said there is no need for large-scale imports of such materials.

“This matter will be discussed with the chief secretary to the government to check who has the proper authority to make such long-term policy decisions,” Bernama reported him as saying at a meeting of a special task force on plastic waste and e-waste imports at the MACC headquarters today.

Azam said there is a need for close cooperation among the customs department, the environment department, and the investment, trade and industry ministry on the issue of plastic and e-waste.

He said the task force’s establishment reflected the government’s recognition that the issue was not just a technical or environmental issue, but a matter of national interest.

In a letter dated Dec 8 last year, chief secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar appointed MACC as the chair of the task force.

Malaysia has been among the top countries importing e-waste since 2023, according to the 2025 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Malaysia began tightening its restrictions on plastic waste imports from July 1 last year, with most imports now prohibited unless they go through the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim) and the investment, trade and industry ministry’s permit system.