Guest lecture gives Curtin students and academics better picture of environmental impact assessments

Miri – 4 July 2022 – Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently hosted guest lecturer Ir. Brian Chong Sin Hian, Director of Chemsain Consultant Sdn. Bhd., who gave a lecture on ‘Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) – The Malaysian Experience’ to 41 students and lecturers of the University.

The lecture, which was delivered in hybrid mode to both physical and online attendees, was in relation to the ENST 3000 Environmental Impact Assessment unit the students are currently studying.

The attendees comprised unit lecturers Dr. Tay Ai Chen and Dr. Yong Leong Kong, 15 EIA students including eight Indonesian exchange students from University of Jakarta and four students from Curtin’s main campus in Perth, as well as other lecturers and students of Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science and staff of Chemsain Consultant Sdn. Bhd.

According to Assoc. Prof. Wong, Ir. Chong has over 30 years’ experience in the environmental consultancy field, leading an experienced team of EIA experts and carrying out over 300 EIA assessments in Malaysia, Brunei and Myanmar.

He is a registered EIA consultant with the Department of Environment (DOE), Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) Sarawak and the Environment Protection Department (EPD) Sabah, in addition to being a subject matter expert in waste management, wastewater management, and soil erosion and sediment control.

The lecture covered a wide range of topics, including a comparison of Malaysia’s EIA with other environmental and social impact assessments practiced worldwide such as the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA), Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Environmental, Social & Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA).

It also covered environmental legislation in Malaysia, the processes of conducting an EIA, and a case study of the EIA conducted for the Samalaju Industrial Park northeast of Bintulu.

Dr. Tay said the lecture was very beneficial to the students and academics, giving them a better understanding of the different types of environmental assessments and the environmental legislation in place in Malaysia.

“The students learned about the preparation of EIA reports according to Department of Environment requirements, which was very relevant to the ENST 3000 Environmental Impact Assessment unit. Such learning will better prepare them for actual practice in industry in the future,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tan Yee Yong, the coordinator of the environmental engineering programme at Curtin Malaysia, said industry connections are very important to learning and teaching at Curtin Malaysia and guest lectures by industry practitioners not only give students first-hand insights into industry practice but the knowledge gained also helps ensure they are industry-ready when they graduate.

Curtin Malaysia offers Curtin University’s Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering, which provides a broad scope of environmental engineering, including water treatment, solid waste management, and domestic and industrial waste water treatment. Graduates of the course can find employment in areas such as environmental impact assessment, air pollution prevention and control, environmental monitoring and management systems, environmental consultation, soil erosion prevention, noise monitoring and control, recycling systems and oil spill recovery.

It is a four-year honours course accredited by Engineers Australia (EA) and the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), and recognised by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

For more information on Curtin Malaysia and the courses it offers, visit its website at https:// www.curtin.edu.my or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tik-Tok.

Ir. Brian Chong Sin Hian giving his guest lecture.

Screen grab of in-class and online attendees with Ir. Chong.