SOSMIC MANDATORY FOR LICENCE IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC CLEANSING - NGA

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) has set participation in the Solid Waste Management Intellectual Course (SOSMIC) as a mandatory requirement for all new licence applications and renewals for solid waste management and public cleansing services starting next year.

Minister of Housing and Local Government Nga Kor Ming said SOSMIC was established to ensure that all solid waste management and public cleaning licence holders operate at a level of professionalism that meets the country's future needs.

“SOSMIC is expected to train 20,000 participants in the first five years. Each participant will bring home not only knowledge but also a new culture, discipline and awareness that will ultimately create a wave of change in the reform of the country’s solid waste management.

“The implementation of SOSMIC is expected to contribute directly to the achievement of the KPKT’s goal of becoming a high-performance and results-oriented ministry for the well-being of the people,” he said at the National Solid Waste Management Reform SOSMIC event here today.

Nga’s speech was read out by KPKT secretary-general Datuk Dr M Noor Azman Taib.

SOSMIC is the first intellectual course in the field of solid waste management and public cleaning in Malaysia that was developed by the National Solid Waste Management Department (JPSPN), in collaboration with the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) and the Housing and Local Government Training Institute (I-KPKT).

This initiative focuses on enhancing the professionalism of licensees, strengthening the understanding of the law and industry standards in line with Act 672 and the aspirations of Malaysia MADANI.

This programme consists of five core modules: background of the national solid waste management system, the legal framework, technical fundamentals, procedure to apply for a licence via the i-Lesen system and industry best practices.

Meanwhile, Nga said the KPKT had carried out 24,003 operations to tackle illegal dumping sites from 2014 to October this year.

From January to October this year, he said a total of 3,634 operations were successfully carried out involving the cleaning of 1,530.41 tonnes of solid waste at a cost of more than RM406,000.

“From the aspect of enforcement, 22 cases were successfully brought to court under Act 672 this year, supported by 4,268 intelligence operations, an effort that required the perseverance of field officers, as well as significant time and cost.

“We need cooperation from all levels of society to improve the level of cleanliness in the nation,” he said.

-- BERNAMA