The 20 sen per plastic bag charged on consumers in Selangor should be used for environmental and wildlife protection, said the office of Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong.

This is according to an understanding arrived between hypermarkets and Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism after the policy was practised every Saturday, said Adrian Yeo, the policy officer of Wong's office.

"What is in place by the ministry, who had an understanding with hypermarkets, that the 20 sen collected have to be used for wildlife protection and conservation project," he told Malaysiakini.

However, he admitted that the state government was powerless to audit retailers and traders who charged 20 sen per plastic bag.

"From the legal perspective, we do not have the power to audit them or to tell them what to do.

"We do encourage them to do that (contribute to the environmental and wildlife protection) and most of them have already done that," he said.

Yeo also admitted that the cost of a plastic bag is below 20 sen.

"If you count it by weight, it is a few sen's worth of plastic bag. And 20 sen is the minimum charge we put on it," he said.

He, however, said the new policy would not cause inflation as shoppers have a choice not to use and pay for the plastic bags.

The state government introduced "no plastic bag policy" in all major shopping outlets for Saturdays in 2010 and expanded this practice to seven days a week statewide beginning this year.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar has questioned where the 20 sen per plastic bag charged on shoppers went.

"To answer this question, I suggest that every supermarket or retail outlet declare the value of its respective sale of plastic bags," said Noh.

Protect mother nature

Meanwhile, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) president Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said the money collected from plastic bag sales should go back towards doing preservation and conservation programmes for mother nature.

"The money should be used for reforestations, cleaning up rivers and create a special paid squad in protecting mother nature," she said in a text message.

The state government planned to ban plastic bags totally and the people would have no choice but to bring their own bags, she said.

NGOs should be the one to monitor how the money was used, she said.

Meanwhile, Selangor Peka president Sophine Tann urged retailers and authorities to inform the public where the 20 sen went and the NGOs who have received the money.

"In that way, the public can monitor as well as choose which causes their 20 sen goes to," she said.