Farmers, fishermen hit by bauxite mining can't claim from agri fund

PARLIAMENT Fishermen and farmers affected by bauxite mining in Pahang will not be able to seek assistance from a special agriculture fund, set up for losses due to disasters.

"At the time being, the government has various assistance for farmers and fishermen who suffer losses due to national disasters, but this does not include bauxite mining," Agriculture and Agri-based Industries Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said in a parliamentary reply.

He was responding to Khairuddin Aman Razali (PAS-Kuala Nerus) who asked if safety net schemes offered to fishermen and farmers cover losses caused by bauxite mining.

Farmers and fishermen incomes are hurt by the mining, which has polluted waterways and affected soil quality.

Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh said fishermen who operate in shallow waters have also been forced to go further into the sea, where they are forced to compete with deep sea trawlers in more perilous situations.

The government has imposed a three month moratorium on the mining, which will expire next month.

Activists, including farmers, are on a protest walk from Kuantan to Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, to urge the government to extend the moratorium.

The mining had enveloped Kuantan and surrounding areas in red dust, as unregulated lorries ferried raw bauxite ore from the mines in Bukit Goh to the Kuantan Port.

Last week, lorry drivers staged a demonstration calling for the moratorium to be lifted, citing loss of income. -Mkini