Sand mining making residents jittery

Silted up flood retention pond poses a danger and affected Mutiara Bukit Jalil residents are dismayed over its legality

KUALA LUMPUR: Chong Han Hoi, 63, expects to live out the twilight of his years in peace when he bought his Mutiara Bukit Jalil house three years ago, but that dream has been shattered.

A company of miners, arriving in full force in May this year, have been taking sand from a patch of land and the nearby Bohol flood retention pond.

“They sometimes go on for 24 hours,” Chong said, pointing at the excavators dredging sand from a large piece of land just 100 metres away from his housing area.

On a recent visit to Mutiara Bukit Jalil, FMT noticed several excavators digging into the sand by the pond.

A sand washing pit had been set up, with muddy water flowing from there into the pond. Some of the sand was already loaded into big lorries, and were lumbering on their way out.

Chong said that the miners started work two years ago and the digging was minimal then.

“We thought it was a small mining (operation) but it is getting very active (lately)… the mining has been going on for two years,” he said.

None of the residents of the 471 houses in Mutiara Bukit Jalil have confronted the sand miners in person.

“I’m afraid that they are draining the sand from our area, and my fear is that the monsoon drain nearby will collapse, and you don’t know (how it’s going to happen),” Chong added.

Intimidated by bouncers

According to social activist Chin Choong Men, the Bohol pond was originally used for tin mining, and was later set up as a flood retention pond in the 1970s.

Water from Sungai Kuyoh (from Serdang) would flow into it, before it was diverted back into the mainstream, Sungai Kelang.

However, nearby rapid development and dumped rubbish appeared to be polluting the pond. Monsoon drains leading from nearby residential areas also contributed to the problem.

(Mutiara Bukit Jalil rests along the KL-Selangor district border, but does not rest in Selangor.)

Armed with Google Earth satellite images, Chin showed FMT how the pond has shrunk over the last decade, from a healthy-looking green to a brackish brownish-black.

Some of this brownish water, satellite photos showed, seemed to be flowing into Sungai Kelang. The pond’s water level was also receding to a dangerous level.

Speaking on the sand mining itself, he said: “The mining is making the pond worse, because the issue is washing the sand using river water.

“If they keep digging, the depth of the pond will become lower, as there will be a lot of sediments.”

Flooding as a result of unpredictable weather could also become a problem, said Chin.

Mutiara Bukit Jalil, he added, would not be swamped in a flash flood as it stood on a rise of 80 metres above sea level. For areas north of the pond, however, Chin feared the worst.

“The pond will get smaller, and it is getting dirtier and more polluted. People’s health will be affected, and the pond will not serve its function of a flood retention facility,” he said.

Lembah Pantai MP (PKR) Nurul Izzah Anwar was also concerned with the sand mining taking place by the pond.

She said that she paid the site a visit on Sept 10 this year. However, Nurul claimed that she was “intimidated” by the heavy-handed presence of “bouncers” standing around the area.

“When I went there, it was just me, my bodyguard and my driver. But there were 30 men standing outside the perimeter (of the area) and inside (the compound).”

“They were bouncers, and they were standing around… waiting. It was not something I quite liked, it was more than I bargained for,” she said.

Nurul added that she stayed around for less than 10 minutes before leaving. She would later query KL City Hall (DBKL) for an answer.

DBKL: Sand mining completely legal

Four days later, KL Datuk Bandar Ahmad Fuad Ismail confirmed that the sand mining was operated by a company known as Tetuan Zest Module (M) Sdn Bhd, and that it was completely legal.

In his letter, Ahmad Fuad said that Tetuan Zest Module’s contract began on May 1 this year and would end on Dec 31 2012 – a total of 20 months.

In return, the company would pay royalties to the federal Land Office, and would be required to build a recreational park in the Bohol area.

Ahmad Fuad told FMT that the sand mining area was once used as a garbage management area, and that until recently, illegal dumping and other activities were taking place.

“People were complaining why people weren’t really taking care of the place… If we don’t do anything, then people will complain,” he said.

He added that the federal Land Office had given Tetuan Zest Module the permit to mine sand. The company was also required to remove the garbage dumped into the pond.

“They’re not only taking out the sand, but they’re also taking out the garbage and all the metals that have been dumped there… there’s not a lot of sand left,” he said.

Ahmad Fuad said that Tetuan Zest would spend between RM4 million and RM5 million to build “a very nice landscape” in the “second phase” of its operations.

Both DBKL and the Land Irrigation Department, he added, were keeping a close eye on the company, but did not find anything untoward.

“For whatever they take out, it shouldn’t disturb Sungai Kuyoh. We will take action if they’re not doing their job, but thus far, we have no reports saying that they haven’t,” he said.

Asked about local residents’ grouses about the area, he said: “It’s for the people there, because they will be using the place.”