The participants together with Ahmad (front centre) pose for a group photo.
KUCHING: Close to 400 people comprising industry players, project movers, stakeholders and environmental consultants in Sarawak attended a ‘Guided Self-Regulation’ seminar here.
Organised by the Department of Environment (DoE) Malaysia, the objective of the seminar was to discuss and guide the industry towards a new culture – Guided Self Regulation (GSR) – introduced by the DoE.
Speaking at the closing ceremony yesterday, DoE director-general Dato Dr Ahmad Kamarulnajuib Che Ibrahim said the GSR is a component of the existing Command and Control approach adopted by DoE.
He said the GSR culture would produce continued compliance and excellence in specialised environmental management among the industry players themselves.
“GSR culture is a culture of concern to the environment generated through the implementation of environmental mainstreaming in which the environment is taken into account in every stage of decision-making process.
“The industry is fully responsible in implementing the mainstreaming under the guidelines provided by the DoE,” he said.
Ahmad said the GSR is self-regulatory and capable of producing continuous excellent environmental management.
He noted that the DoE’s effort to hold such a seminar would empower the GSR, adding the seminar which served as an ongoing training platform must be attended by the industry players consistently.
“The certification programme, which is one of the environmental mainstreaming (EM) tools, is also one of the elements of control that should involve stakeholders who have a role in the implementation of the GSR.
“The various certification programmes organised by the DoE covers all the responsibilities that have been set,” he said.
Ahmad said in line with the current legislative provisions, the industry also needs to provide competent persons (CPs) who are required to continue to carry out their duties and enhance their knowledge in the field of selection.