PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) LAW IN MALAYSIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Public participation in environmental impact assessment has been recognized under Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. According to Principle 10, the public shall have right to access to information, participate in decision making process and their voice shall be heard. Malaysia has implemented environmental impact assessment under Article 34 of Environmental Quality Act 1973, Article 12 of Sabah Environment Protection Enactment 2002 and Section 11A of Sarawak’s Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance 1993.  This paper will look into the public participation in environmental impact assessment in Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Qualitative methodology with analytical, historical and comparative approaches was used in this study. Result indicates that public participation has been mentioned in all three legislations. However, there is no guideline as to the level of participation by the public and how the information shall be delivered to the public.