PETALING JAYA: NGOs and a workers’ union today called on newly-appointed natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Arthur Joseph Kurup to make a total asbestos ban his top priority.
In a joint statement, Building and Wood Workers’ International, the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), Sahabat Alam Malaysia and the Health and Safety Advisory Centre (Hasac) said Kurup should move quickly to finalise a comprehensive ban that had been delayed for decades.
They said his background as a former World Trade Organization trade and legal officer, as well as a former deputy science, technology and innovation minister, placed him in a strong position to counter industry lobbying.