Visit the Regulation Details of Malaysia Regulatory Region

In Malaysia, chemicals are regulated by multiple ministries. Malaysia’s Environmentally Hazardous Substances Notification & Registration (EHSNR) Scheme started in 2009 as a voluntary scheme. The scheme encourages industries to submit registration and notification on a voluntary basis.

The main authority in chemical management is Department of Environment (DoE), Ministry of Environment and Water, a mandate given by The Environmental Quality Act, 1974 (Act 127) to prevent, abate, control of pollution and enhancement of the environment.

Based on the information submitted by industry, Department of Environment (DOE) establishes the Malaysian EHS Reference List. This list contains information about the identity of substances that have been notified to DOE, their uses in Malaysia, their hazard classification and the accumulated amounts placed on the market in Malaysia.

Currently, EHSNR scheme remain a voluntary basis, it will become mandatory as soon as the draft regulations on EHS is gazette.

Both importers and the manufacturers of EHS in Malaysia shall notify in the MyEHS System. This company shall have valid ROC company registration number in order to proceed for MyEHS System registration.

Oversea manufacturers and supplies may apply for External Notification to avoid reveal the Confidential Business Information (CBI). Locally registered companies register their overseas suppliers in the system in case that the substances are classified as confidential by the overseas suppliers. This is only applicable to substances that require detailed notification.

In April 2021, a new website named “MyEHS” ( https://myehs.doe.gov.my/portal/myehs/ ) was launched to replace the existing EHSNR system. This system allows users to register Environmentally Hazardous Substances (EHS) and search the list of registered substances, usage manuals, etc.

National Regulation
Implementation officer	Department of Environment (DOE)
Law	The Environmental Quality Act, 1974 (Act 127) Amendment (Act 1985, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2012) Guidance for the Industry on the Environmentally Hazardous Substances Notification & Registration Scheme in Malaysia 2012
Objectives	to ensure importers and manufactures to notify the manufacturing and importation of EHS. to provide the necessary information on EHS to manage EHS in a safe and sound manner to protect the human health and the environment.
Scope	The law: Any natural or artificial substances, whether in a solid, semi solid, liquid, gas, vapour or in a mixture of at least two of these substances, or any objectionable odour or noise, or heat, and hazardous substances The scheme: Any substances that are not covered by other notification scheme (e.g. GHS) and laws in Malaysia
Exemption	The law: Investigation and research relevant to the problem of pollution The scheme: Naturally-occurring materials Incidental/end-use reaction products Substances formed during the manufacture of an article Mixtures (but not mixture components) Impurities By-products Non-isolated intermediates Contained site-limited intermediates Transported intermediates Substances manufactured solely for export Substances used in research and development Substances produced for test marketing Low volume substances (<1 tonne per annum) Polymers
Target	Manufacturers and importers of EHS and importers of chemical mixtures or finished products that contain EHS as their constituents
Compliance obligations	(Voluntary) 1. Registration and notification of existing EHS: Basic 2. Registration and notification of new substances (not in the EHS list): Detailed
Implementation date	1. Basic: January to June every year 2. Detailed: January to December every year https://myehs.doe.gov.my/portal/myehs/

Chemical Management Division, Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources (CME-DOSH-MHR) is also given a mandate by The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514) to supervise and enforce practices that ensure the safety, health and welfare of people at work or at the work place. The Act has been enriched and becomes more specific through further elaboration by Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1996, Prohibition of Use of Substances Order 1999, Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health Regulations 2000, Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease Regulations 2004.

National Regulation

Implementation officer 

CME-DOSH-MHR

Law 

Occupational Safety And Health Act 1994. Act 514

Complement:

Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996	Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards
Occupational Safety and Health Order 1999	Prohibition of Use of Substances
Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 2000	Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health
Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 2004	Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease

Objectives

Secure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work and protect people at the place of work
Promote an occupational environment for people at work which is adapted to their physiological and psychological needs
Provide legislations associated to occupational safety and industry codes of practice

Scope

Chemical substances for use at work

Target

A public officer and the national committee, employers, employees, and designers- manufacturers-suppliers

Compliance obligations 

For a designer- manufacturer-supplier, he has to

ensure the substance used is safe
conduct testing and examination of the substance to prove it is safe
ensure adequate information is available in connection to the use of the substance and the result of the test
eliminate or minimize any risk to safety or health to which the substance may give rise e.g. the chemicals listed in Occupational Safety and Health Order 1999
identify and notify an industrial activity (both new and existing installations of chemical substances) and major hazards e.g. Notification of Industrial Activity Form, on-site, off-site emergency plans, report

Another one complementary regulation to Act 514 outlines the adoption of GHS 3th revision in Malaysia. Classification, Labelling and Safety Data Sheet of Hazardous Chemicals Regulations 1997 and its updated version 2013 mandatorily require suppliers2 to fulfill classification of a hazardous chemical in accordance with Industry Code of Practice (ICOP 2014), apply compliant packaging, labels, and provide chemical information in a form such as SDS. Importers and manufacturers also need to submit an inventory of chemical information through the online chemical Information management system (CIMS).

Information in the inventory:

The product identifier
The name of the hazardous chemical
The composition and ingredients of a hazardous chemical

The hazard classification
The total quantity of each hazardous chemical imported or supplied
CAS Registry Numbers (if applicable)

Adoption of GHS

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) as the chair for the National Coordinating Committee is in charge of the implementation for GHS. MITI once launched a project, Classification Tool for Chemical Mixture (CATCH), aiming to adopt both GHS 6th revision (only health and environmental hazards) and the CLASS Regulations 2013. This move is in line with the updated reply gathered by APEC Questionnaire that DOSH is aiming to adopt GHS 7th reversion in 2022.3

GHS Regulation
Status	Adopt UN GHS Rev.3
Regulation(s)	Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Labelling and Safety Data Sheet of Hazardous Chemicals) Regulations 1997, 2013 Industry Code of Practice On Chemicals Classification And Hazard Communication, 2014, 2019
Scope	Chemical substances and mixtures for use at work
Exemption	A chemical regulated by other laws (i) a radioactive material as defined under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984; (ii) scheduled waste as defined under the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005; (iii) a cosmetic or product as defined under the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984; (iv) a chemical which is a pesticide as defined under the Pesticides Act 1974 A chemical used for scientific research and development, or trial purposes (i) not for sale in the market; (ii) not exceed five kilograms in capacity; (iii) adequate information on the safe use of the chemical is made available by the supplier A manufactured item, other than a fluid or particle, which (i) forms to a specific shape or design during manufacture; (ii) has end use function dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end use; (iii) under normal conditions of use, does not release significant quantity of chemical which poses physical hazard or risk to health. A chemical in transit prior to export which is stored at any storage area
Implementation date	Imported or manufactured chemicals in a quantity of 1000 kg and above per year. Submit an inventory not later than 31 March every year via https://cims.dosh.gov.my/
Language	Malay and English
Comments	1. The mandatory inventory mechanism CIMS is expected to be merged with the voluntary inventory mechanism EHSNR in the near future. 2. An initiative to address both GHS version 6 (only health and environmental hazards) and the CLASS Regulations 2013: “The GHS Software for Chemical Mixture – also known as “Classification Tool for Chemical Mixture (CATCH)” starts operating in 2017.

Chemical regulations from other ministries

Pharmaceutical Services Division, Ministry of Health	The Food Act 1983 Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984 The Poisons Act 1952
Ministry of International Trade and Industries	Petroleum (Safety Measures) Act 1984
Royal Malaysia Customs, Ministry of Finance	The Custom Act 1967
Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-chemicals	The Pesticides Act 1974
Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Chemical weapons convention Act 2005

Malaysia Reach Regulation for Various Sectors

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