MSDS in Malaysia
MSDS in Malaysia is based on and enforced by Malaysian law requirements under the OSH Class regulations 2013, under Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH) Act 1994 and the Industry Code of Practice (ICOP 2014).
For MSDS in Malaysia, both Class regulations 2013 and ICOP 2014 adopts the UN’s Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for chemical classification, labeling and MSDS in Malaysia. However, the MSDS in Malaysia require specific “building blocks” or “hazard categories” criteria from GHS revisions from Rev. 3 to Rev. 8 only. The additional legal requirement for MSDS in Malaysia is that all MSDS in Malaysia has to be in English as well as in Malay versions.
As most exporting suppliers and manufacturers have adopted GHS international guidelines for chemical hazard communication, Malaysian importers only need to request from these sources for a GHS compliant MSDS, which is usually in English, to be applied as official MSDS in Malaysia. For MSDS in Malaysia, if at all any amendments are to be made to the suppliers and manufacturers version, it would still be minor. This is because GHS provides consistency and reduces the need for different classification and labeling requirements any MSDS across borders, including those MSDS in Malaysia.
Generally, a GHS compliant MSDS in Malaysia has the following content:
o Classifications of physical, health, and environmental hazards of the chemicals.
o Standardised labeling elements (pictograms, signal words, and hazard and Precautionary statements).
o A standardised format for Safety Data Sheets (SDSs).
Sometimes, the MSDS English Version is already available in official databases for the importer to engage a translation company to do a Malay Translation of the MSDS in Malaysia.
When a chemical is unlisted in official databases, Malaysian importers are still required to comply Class regulations 2013 and ICOP 2014 regulations and may follow GHS to perform a self-classification to create their MSDS in Malaysia.
This involves evaluating the substance against established hazard criteria using available data, or generating new data through testing.
Examples of self-classifications for MSDS in Malaysia of unlisted chemicals include:
✅ Toxicity
✅ Acute oral toxicity
✅ Skin irritation/sensitization
✅ Carcinogenicity/Mutagenicity/Reproductive toxicity
✅ Physicochemical Properties
✅ Flammability
✅ Flammability
✅ Oxidizing potential
✅ Environmental Hazards
✅ Aquatic toxicity
✅ Water Hazard Class (WGK)
Self-classifications for MSDS in Malaysia also involves gathering reliable data from other sources, such as scientific journals, textbooks and manufacturer data and then applying the specific criteria of Class regulations 2013 and ICOP 2014 regulations.