Analysis: Sabah's Water Resources Policy & Legislation (1998)

This report provides a summary of the legislation surrounding water resources in Sabah, Malaysia, focusing on the Sabah Water Resources Enactment 1998 and the Water Resources Master Plan Negeri Sabah 1994. It covers aspects such as water rights, control of water use, authorization of water activities, catchment planning, and water protection areas. The report emphasizes the importance of effective water resource management, addressing issues like water scarcity, increasing demands due to population growth and urbanization, and the need for sustainable water use. It highlights the role of the Department of Water in enforcing regulations and ensuring fair allocation of water resources, as well as the significance of public trust and integrity in water resource management. The document also touches upon complaint resolution mechanisms and the need for comprehensive planning to meet future water requirements while protecting the environment.

Legislation

Summary
Waterfront properties (such as a river or stream) are in great demand due to their
aesthetic, environmental, recreational, and commercial importance. Any loss of the
amenities given by the watercourse causes substantial grief to property owners, who
may take actions to protect the watercourse's attributes and the accompanying
monetary value of their land. Such occurrences may occur during a drought or when
streamflow is low. Property owners may disagree about who has the right to collect
water from a stream. It is critical that such disagreements be resolved in a timely and
effective manner, decreasing the possibility of the dispute escalating and causing
harm to society.

Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................4
Basis Of Legal References:............................................................................................................4
Sabah Water Resources Enactment 1998...................................................................................4
Water Resources Master Plan Negeri Sabah 1994...................................................................4
Administration...................................................................................................................................6
Intent.....................................................................................................................................................7
Legislation............................................................................................................................................7
Policy link.............................................................................................................................................9
Risk approach.................................................................................................................................10
Procedural equity...........................................................................................................................11
Need for change..............................................................................................................................11
Legal requirements........................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................15

Introduction
The Department of Water (the department) is in charge of enforcing rules in Western
Malaysia that governs the regulation, control, use, and management of water and
some water services. Water is a valuable resource, especially in the context of a
drying environment, an expanding population, and economic expansion in the state.
We administer the Act based on acceptable criteria that are transparent, fair,
impartial, and suitable of being administered routinely across a wide range of
conditions to ensure the nation makes the best use of this water resource. The
legislation establishes the framework for allocating water to users through permits
that are consistent with the best interests of the state as a whole. The department
will guarantee that conformance and compliance are carried out appropriately and
fairly by enforcing this policy. This policy explains: the goals of our strong regulatory
actions
the variety of non-statutory and statutory measures at our disposal for increasing
legislative compliance the use of a risk-based approach to compliance and
enforcement operations, the methodology and fundamental concepts for evaluating
appropriate strong regulatory actions. The compliance and enforcement policy of the
department aims to: ensure appropriate administration of the state's water resources
for the benefit of all users and the state as a whole. It must support and encourage
the conservation of water resources and the water-dependent environment. It also
provides assistance measures that encourage licensees to self-regulate in order to
comply with water resource licence conditions. It also acts as an essential and
practical guide for investors and the broader group. It maintains public trust in the
management of the state's water resources. Boost the stability of water entitlements.
There is a requirement for integrity and honesty.
Basis Of Legal References:
Sabah Water Resources Enactment 1998
Water Resources Master Plan Negeri Sabah 1994
1. Preliminary
(Section 1 – 2)
The Department of Water (the department) will only take action if a reported
conduct regarding a right to utilise water violates the Act. Unlawful taking of
water, as well as unauthorised interference with the bed and banks of a
watercourse, are examples of such activities. It should be noted that a person

who decreases or exhausts a watercourse's water supply while exercising a
privilege given by a water licence or riparian right under the Rights and violation
of the Act.
A person reporting an alleged unlawful behaviour must provide the department
with necessary information so that the department can determine whether the
claimed activity is a breach of the law. This policy defines the Division of Water's
responsibility when it is notified of an activity that is having a detrimental effect
on a stream, as well as the rights of separate water users to take and utilise
water. Under this policy, the administration will only become directly engaged in
a 'complaint' or 'dispute' concerning a fluvial activity if it determines that it has the
legislative authorities to intervene under the Rights. This guideline outlines the
steps a complained should take to report a potential violation of the Rights in
Sabah Act, as well as the evidence the Ministry of Water resources needs to
assess if a violation has occurred.
The set of initiatives that must take place in order to obtain the vision's main
goals is evaluated based on 4 difficulties to a proper water coming years, which
are (a) going to handle our water resources efficiently (addressing both supply
and demand aspects), (b) relocating towards embedded watershed
management, (c) transferring awareness into electoral own will ability, and (d)
moving forward toward appropriate, safe, and inexpensive water provision. The
goal of the water vision is to get from what we're doing to where we need to be in
order to satisfy future water requirements and improve sustainable water use.
This exercise entails an investigation, discussion, and promotion process that
will develop new at the national level, establish a compromise on a water vision
for the year 2025, raise regarding water concerns among the people and
judgement, and provide a plan of action. This template will serve as the
foundation for the creation of a thorough action strategy to help move from the
credit's concept to practical results - having every droplet count - that will make a
genuine difference in someone's life. It's a road map. Malaysia receives 3000
mm of rain every year on average. Water resource development has been a
catalyst for the country's socioeconomic progress throughout the last few
decades. Dams, pipelines, and canals transfer water from rivers to meet home,
industrial, and agricultural demands. The country's water status has recently
shifted from one of relative excess to one of scarcity. Population increase,
urbanisation, industrialization, and the growth of irrigated agriculture all place
increasing demands and strains on water supplies, while also contributing to

rising groundwater contamination. Water management is growing more thorough
and complex as a result of dense populations, business ventures, and
enterprises in and around cities and towns, rising water consumption, rising
water pollution, rising land use conflicts, and rising climate change.
Simultaneously, any new development of natural supply to support and ever
demands is scrutinised by conservationists and activists.
Administration
The goal of the water vision is to get from where we are now to where we need
to be in order to satisfy future water needs and ensure sustainable water use.
This exercise entails a study, counselling, and application has resulted that will:
constructive feedback on what has been occurring in the national water
management, as well as trends outside the maritime sector that could impact
future water use; generate a common understanding on a dream for moisture for
year 2025 to be communicated by water management professionals and choice
in the authorities, finance industry, and civilised society; and raise solutions for
water concerns. Over the previous three decades, population and GDP growth
have resulted in a high demand for water. Due to rural-urban migration and
increasing urbanisation, the problem of population expansion is felt most acutely
in metropolitan regions. The government's ability to meet infrastructural and
service needs, as well as offer the environmental conditions essential for
improved living, has been stretched by the city's exponential growth. Often, the
capacity for collecting, treating, and disposing of sewage and solid waste is
insufficient to handle the volume created. This situation creates issues with water
contamination, public health, and urban ecological pollution.
The increased demand for the limited and shrinking supply of clean water
accessible has resulted in competition among various water users, a rivalry that
continues to be exacerbated by economic expansion. Furthermore, because the
widely available portion of groundwater has already been produced for use in
virtually all areas of high water demand, future river basin development will
necessitate the construction of additional storage dams. These are not only
expensive to create, but they also have a high environmental impact. However,
in some high-demand areas, the realistic limit of surface efficient water
management has been reached, necessitating constriction. Surprisingly, at times
of water scarcity, portions of Malaysia experience considerable flooding.
Although floods are natural phenomena caused by excessive rainfall overflowing
existing streams for a period of time, unregulated development activities in

watershed areas and along river corridors can exacerbate flood severity. The
high rate of crystallization in the rivers has harmed their storm water runoff,
resulting in more frequent and intense flooding in downstream communities.
Because of the runoff properties of built-up areas, the frequency of flood events
in urban areas is increasing. Rivers and streams are clearly visible, and
frequently significant, sources of water that support our industry and way of life.
Seasonal rainfall patterns, runoff created in the watercourse's catchment, and, in
certain situations, groundwater release or human activities all influence the flow
of water in rivers and streams. For dry times, when water is in short supply,
especially for irrigators, the flow decreases. In some years, rainfall during the
rainy months may be inadequate to sustain sufficient flow to fulfill the demand of
all water services during dry months that follow. When water flow is poor or
sporadic, problems amongst people who use the same watercourse may occur.
When people are harmed by the actions of others, they frequently turn to
government agencies to help them get back on their feet. As the state's water
resource management body, the Department of Water receives hundreds of
complaints from estates who share the same watercourse. It is critical that the
complaint understands that the department would not take action if there is no
violation of the act. The complaint should provide the department with about as
much detail about the issue as possible (ideally in writing) to assist the office in
establishing whether a violation of the Act has occurred.
Intent
The goal of this policy is to offer a uniform and comprehensive framework for
addressing reported alleged unlawful acts of Malaysian watercourses. The guideline
specifies the facts that complainants must supply when reporting a probable violation
of water regulations, as well as how the agency would respond.
Legislation
This policy refers to additional complaint resolution methods developed by the
Malaysian government, such as: • Complaints management guidelines (Department
of Water 2009), which specify the use of the department's incident management
system. Complaints management strategy for the entire government Good practise
guidelines for the Western Malaysian public sector: a companion reference to the
Malaysian standard on complaint management. The Rights in act creates the legal
foundation for managing and allocating Western Malaysia's water resources. The

Crown has the right to use, flow, and control water in watercourses, wetlands, and
subterranean water sources under this Act. The department is in charge of carrying
out the Act's water resource management authorities and functions.
A person can file a complaint about alleged illegal activity on a watercourse by
having to contact a few of the council's regional offices (see the list at the end of this
document). This can be done verbally, in person or by phone, or in writing, via pale
imitation, memo, or email. Written complaints are preferential because they are
faster and more reliable and follow up on, and they focus on ensuring that the
claimant and the bureau are working from the same set of facts. A permit is also
required in these areas for interfering with the bed and banks of watercourses, such
as when building a dam.
In unproclaimed areas, a person may take water from a river or stream without
obtaining permission from the division as long because as taking does not'sensibly
diminish' (refer to glossary) the movement in the river or stream and the fault is not
placed where a river or stream is adjacent to a public access road or deposit (in
which situation a permit is considered necessary). The act grants riparian rights to
water to landowners whose attributes are adjacent to a river or stream. The Act
requires that perhaps the ingestion of water in surplus of riparian right be licenced by
the department in locations that are recommended or asserted as surface sea
waters or watering districts. The information given will be initially evaluated to
determine whether it is adequate to determine the whether complaint defines an
activity that violates the act.
If the complaint does not provide enough info to conduct a thorough investigation,
the department will contact the complainant and request additional information. If the
aggrieved party will not provide the requested additional information in writing within
24 hr, the department may decide that no further action can be taken.
If the issue has already been reported to that other agency or local shire, the office
may contact them for additional information to aid in the department's assessment of
the reportee. If additional investigation is required to determine whether a reported
activity violates the department will notify the complainant in writing that the matter
will be investigated further. The letter may also state that the complainant may be
contacted to provide additional information on the issue and that the outcome will be
communicated to them. Before deciding what action to take, the department may
contact the party to whom the complaint applies (respondent). An inspection of the
reported activity may be part of the investigation to determine the validity of the

complaint. Evidence, such as photographs and witness statements, may be
gathered. If the investigation shows a human rights violation in the agency will act
accordingly. Depending on the severity of the conundrum, the delinquent behaviour
party will be informed of environment of the violation and may be given a fair chance
to correct the situation. A volume of the water created into a riverbed or wetland as a
result of works built for that purpose. The water is typically introduced to the riverbed
from a dam or an aquifers bore: • to sustain flow and water depth for the safety of
environmental characteristics – it might be a condition of a licence or a vision
released by the Department of Water.
• by property owners who use the waterway as a pipe to transfer water from disk
space to use or flash memory on a down - stream property that must also be
collinear to the riverbed.
Water users with riparian rights or other water rights are not permitted to use the
augmented flow unless they follow the protections of Subdivision 1 of Division 3A of
the Fundamental freedoms in Irrigational Act 1914. The owner of a licence who has
direct connections to the riverbed may take enhanced flow unless prohibited by a
circumstance of their licencing whether by. A person can receive water from a
riverbed accessible by a shared path or a stockpile for residential and usual use, as
well as stock fertigation. Water may be taken for any aim in unproclaimed areas as
long as the flow is not'sensibly reduced.' A structure necessitates the acquisition of a
permit. Landlords who live near watercourses have the right to free water for
domestic and usual use, as well as stock watering. Two hectares of land may be
supplied with water for non-commercial uses in declared areas. Water may be begun
taking for other specific purpose in semi locations as long as the flow is not'sensibly
reduced.'
Policy link
The department will carry out this policy in accordance with the founding force
outlined below. We will conduct strong regulatory activities in a manner that is: in
conformity with the act and within our authority, timely and productive, reasonable
and measurable, coherent and constant, fair and impartial, and skilled of being
practised constantly across a wide variety of situations. The department is in charge
of issues resulting from legislation managed by the Minister of Water. In this policy,
regulations related to adherence to laws and/or licence conditions, whilst enforcing
refers to the use of legislative powers to ensure adherence to the law. Several
procedures are used by the department to guarantee effective and suitable

standards tactics. This allows us to respond with the most suitable response in a
given situation, such as a superior stage of disciplinary procedures when a water
resource is being damaged. We use a variety of methods to incentivise compliancy
or licence conditions, including, but not confined to, general data about the
provisions (e.g., purpose, arrangements, and effect), targeted education and
awareness activities, timely assistance of information and tips, dispute resolution,
collaborative assistance and partnership, informal warning signs, formal alerts,
issuing punishments, and going to direct conformity and prosecution.
In helps to protect the state's water resources, our strong regulatory activities
aim to: raise understanding of the benefits of compliance with the legislative changes
and the possibility resulting from non, helps and strengthen stakeholders' ability and
commitment to compliant with the legislation, reduce compliance hurdles (e.g.,
enhance awareness of the regulation or how to comply) Promote the legislative
objectives, and counteract factors that favour noncompliance (e.g., a lack of public
support, enabling noncompliance to continue undetected, or misinterpreting
legislative objectives). It serves as a specific and general deterrent to future
violations of the law.
Risk approach
The department takes a risk-based approach to compliance, which means that
the level of compliance monitoring and enforcement action in a given circumstance is
proportional to the level of risk to the state's water resources. A risk assessment will
take into account the potential consequences of noncompliance on the quantity and
quality of available water, other water users, the community, and the water-
dependent environment. The larger the risk, the greater the amount of compliance
action we will perform. The goal of this method is to discover 'at risk' water resources
and target legislative violations that are most likely to stress the supply or erode
public trust in effective water resource management.
The level of risk is determined by the department's internal methodology for
categorising water resources based on risk for the purposes of compliance
monitoring. We assign a high risk group to each water resource based on
characteristics such as current water consumption, historical violations, and natural
assets, among others. The following compliance pyramid depicts the department's
approach to ensuring compliance. While more effort may be expended in
encouraging and assuring the operations. The concentration of operations and

resources at the pyramid's first (bottom) level indicates the department's dedication
to compliance through education, prevention, and cooperation.
In most cases, and depending on the level of risk, the department will consider
enforcement measures at the second (middle) level of the pyramid after determining
that efforts at the first level have been ineffective in attaining compliance. The same
premise often holds true as a prerequisite for implementing enforcement actions at
the third (top) level of the pyramid. While the approach focuses the biggest portion at
the bottom of society (e.g., protection and education), we are dedicated to utilise the
procedures and technologies provided at all levels of the pyramid as needed. In
some cases, depending on the circumstances and the damage to the water
resource, crimes may lack measures at the top or midway of the tower, and we will
advance on civil actions at the middle or top of the rock formation. These comprise
Actually directed COMPLIANCE, Penalty points, Restoration notices, Regulatory
directives, Inspiring and ASSISTING COMPLIANCE, Incident reporting, Prevention
programmes, Training, counseling, instruction, and advice, Monitoring and
Enforcement Policy, and so on. Water Department 7 - the type of the offence
(including the alleged offender's history), the gravity of the violation, how lengthy it
has been ongoing, and whether it was foreseen. The department will conduct a
three-step investigation into all suspected breaches before formulating a reaction
based on four critical variables. Our Compliance and Enforcement Unit has created
more extensive guidance guidelines for each essential step of the investigative
process, as well as for responding to post-investigation breaches. The situation
compliance and enforcement judgments on an individual basis. A variety of factors
will influence the level and kind of the responses. These include: the nature of the
infringement (including the alleged offender's history), the wrongfulness, how lengthy
it has kept going and if it was loss or damages the risk to the water resource, other
water users, communities, or the water dependent atmosphere what effective
regulatory action will be in assisting compliance precedents, where legislation may
involve us to continue contributing to increased stages of the regulatory pyramid
fixed time limits.
Procedural equity
In accordance with procedural fairness standards, there are many avenues for
seeking review of enforcement actions and/or the choices that led to them. These
decisions and enforcement actions can be challenged in court (e.g., infringement
notices), reviewed by the State Administrative Tribunal (e.g., departmental
adjustment of a licence), or reviewed by a delegated authority within the Department

of Water (e.g. directions). The procedure for requesting a review is determined by
the circumstances. In most cases, the procedure for seeking a review is included
with a notification (for example, it is included on an invoice).
Need for change
To support our regulatory and resource management tasks, the department's
compliance and enforcement policy has been reviewed and modified. The review will
assist us in meeting our strategic goal of achieving modern and adaptable water
management in Western Malaysia. The department is implementing a set of rules,
systems, and processes that will underpin how we manage water in the future. This
policy is part of the set.
This policy is aligned with the Malaysian Government's National framework for
strong regulatory mechanisms for water resource and the state's implementation
plan. Ensuring compliance with the legislation we administer is critical to meeting our
key goals and sustaining public trust in the regulator. This policy is a strategic
component of the district's monitoring and enforcement strategy for water resources.
The strategy also includes various guidance materials that provide additional
information on how to implement this approach. These guidelines are being
developed by our Compliance and Enforcement Unit.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EXISTING SABAH WATER
RESOURCES ENACTMENT 1998) has become a popular method for managing and
understanding the complex interrelationships between development and the
environment. It provides a thorough, holistic, and multidisciplinary assessment of the
environmental effects of development actions. In Sabah, the Environment Protection
Department requires either an EXISTING SABAH WATER RESOURCES
ENACTMENT 1998 or a Proposal for Mitigation Measures (PMM) in order to manage
any development identified as a prescribed activity under the Environment Protection
(Prescribed Activities) (Amendment) Order 2013. The goal of these Guidelines is to
give environmental consultants, developers, planning authorities, and other
stakeholders with practical guidance on procedural aspects as well as the
procedures involved in the development of the EXISTING SABAH WATER
RESOURCES ENACTMENT 1998/PMM report. Its goal is to provide a formal
framework for the extent of environmental considerations needed during the
planning, execution, and maintenance stages of any prescribed development
activity. Identifying potential environmental hazards early in the development process
is critical for selecting realistic mitigation methods. The significance of this strategy
ensures that each development activity is carried out with care. The Department truly