Maalysia’s anti-corruption body have detained the country’s top environment officials to assist in investigations into alleged irregularities involving electronic waste (e-waste).
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Among those detained included the director-general of the Department of Environment (DOE), Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar, and the deputy who were arrested on 29 January after presenting themselves at the the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya to provide statements.
The DOE is the government agency responsible for regulating pollution, enforcing environmental laws, and protecting air, water, and land quality to support sustainable development across the country.
Last week, The Star Malaysia reported that investigations were centred on allegations of abuse of power and corrupt practices linked to the management of e-waste, which are believed to have occurred over the past several years.
The MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki who confirmed the arrests, was quoted saying that investigations were being carried out thoroughly in accordance with the law and stressed that the commission would take firm action against anyone involved in corruption, irrespective of rank or status.
These detentions come against the backdrop of heightened enforcement scrutiny over illegal e-waste imports in Malaysia. Last month, the DOE revealed that a total of 701 containers of e-waste had been detected attempting to enter the country over the past four years. Each container was estimated to carry about 20 metric tonnes of hazardous items.
DOE’s Wan Abdul Latiff previously said enforcement efforts were increasingly challenged by more sophisticated smuggling tactics. Among the methods used by syndicates to import e-waste into the country were false declarations, the use of invalid importer or consignee details, and the concealment of e-waste within shipments of other commercial goods to evade detection.
The MACC had earlier disclosed the arrest of six company owners suspected of involvement in e-waste smuggling activities over the past five years. The commission has also frozen 16 bank accounts containing RM10.2 million (US$2.6 million), while identifying seven companies in Selangor believed to be linked to the illegal trade. Investigations have also expanded to include several firms in Negeri Sembilan, Free Malaysia Today reported.
Concerns over Malaysia’s role in the global e-waste trade have also been raised internationally. Last year, a report by waste advocacy group Basel Action Network (BAN) estimated that around 2,000 shipping containers – or approximately 33,000 metric tonnes – of e-waste leave US ports each month, with Malaysia identified as the primary destination.
In the report BAN further reported that 10 major US brokers collectively exported more than 10,000 containers of discarded electronic products, valued at over US$1 billion, to Asian countries between January 2023 and February 2025.
E-waste refers to discarded electrical and electronic equipment such as computers, mobile phones, televisions and circuit boards, which often contain hazardous substances including lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants that can pose serious risks to human health and the environment if improperly handled or recycled.
BAN tracks the global trade in hazardous waste and has long warned that shipments of e-waste from developed countries to Southeast Asia are frequently processed using unsafe and informal methods, exposing workers and surrounding communities to toxic pollution.
