WHEN Malaysia’s Environment Department (DOE) was first set up 50 years ago, it was just a smallish entity tucked under the then Local Government and Environment Ministry and housed in a commercial office building in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Today, the DOE is a fully fledged department and has moved addresses as well as ministries. It now has a significant position in the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry and is headquartered at the much grander Wisma Sumber Asli off Putrajaya’s main boulevard.