MACC Should Act on the Illegal Dumping of Construction Waste in Pontian

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) calls on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to take action against those responsible for dumping construction debris in Pontian, Johor, which is allegedly from Singapore.

According to media reports some residents of villages in Pontian have been finding it hard to get a good night’s rest as convoys of trucks would rumble through narrow gravel roads every night, dumping construction debris such as cement, broken tiles and used construction equipment, believed by Johor officials to be from Singapore. On some days as many as 50 trucks entered the site which has been going on since early 2025. Besides the noise pollution the residents could also be exposed to the hazards of asbestos that may be found in the construction waste.

The Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) claimed that Singapore does not allow construction and demolition (C&D) waste to be exported for disposal. However talks with Malaysia’s national waste management authorities SWCorp identified nine companies linked to the illegal dumping of construction waste in Pontian were Malaysian.

How could the construction waste cross the border if Singapore has laws and regulations governing the export of used and waste materials? At the same time Malaysia also has laws and regulations that must be complied with in matters relating to waste management, trade and disposal. Those responsible must be identified and held fully accountable under the law.

CAP urges the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate as how fleets of trucks are able to transport and dump massive amounts of construction waste at non-designated places and causing environmental pollution with impunity.

We further call on both Singaporean and Malaysian authorities to explain how these trucks passed through checkpoints undetected and to ensure such breaches never recur.

Mohideen Abdul Kader
President
Consumers’ Association of Penang

Letter to the Editor, 10 September 2026