He said this was because the RF emitted from the telecommunication towers and mobile phones belonged to the Non-Ionizing Radiation – NIR category.
“It is a type of radiation that does not have enough energy to induce change in molecules in living matter. Thus, the radiation in the NIR category has no health effects on humans,” he said when repyling a question from Cheong Chee Khing (DAP-Bercham) at the state legislative assembly here, Thursday.
He said NIR was different and often confused with ionizing radiation (IR) such as X rays and radioactive Gamma rays which had enough energy to alter molecular living matter and cause harm to wildlife and humans.
The measurement conducted by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on more than 100 towers and transmitter structures found all were within the 10 per cent radiation exposure limit, he said.
“Malaysia adopts the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) standards for exposure limit as recommended by the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health,” he said.
He said this exposure limit was also observed by countries such as Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
On approval of telecommunications transmitter and tower structures, he said if constructed before gaining approval, the owner might be fined RM3,500 under the Uniform Building By-Laws 1984 and the tower had be demolished by the owner.
On Cheong’s insistence that telecommunication towers should not be built or located in residential areas and shophouses, Shahrul Zaman said this issue had often been a hotly debated topic.
“We need to construct the telecommunication towers in residential or business areas, because ultimately the end users want the best telecommunications service,” he said.
— BERNAMA
