Pos Lanai Orang Asli villagers protest rare earth mining project

Orang Asli villagers from Pos Lanai in Kuala Lipis, Pahang have protested against an alleged plan to mine rare earth metal lanthanide in the area.

They claimed the plan will encroach on their ancestral land, destroy the environment and jeopardise the livelihood of hundreds of families.

Widely used for industrial and scientific purposes, lanthanide is the same element processed by Australian rare earth company Lynas Corporation in Malaysia.

Today, the Pos Lanai Orang Asli Land and Territories Action Committee submitted a letter to the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) protesting an alleged approval given for tests to be conducted at Orang Asli villages for the lanthanide mining project.

They were accompanied by PSM secretary-general A Sivarajan and human rights NGO Suaram representative Suresh Kumar.

Jeffry Hassan

Speaking to the media, committee chairperson Jeffry Hassan cautioned that the mining project will destroy forests and their ancestral lands.

“Before this, we protested the dam (project) until we received a letter of cancellation (for the project) from the Energy Commission. Why is there now an approval to conduct studies for mining?

“No matter what the project is we are against it. Because these projects will destroy the habitat, our lands and ancestral territories.

“We will not agree or accept any offers from the relevant parties. In fact, we will be against it,” he said when met at Jakoa’s Kuala Lumpur office.

Jakoa not listening to Orang Asli

Jeffry learned from a Jakoa letter that the Rural Development Ministry was set to conduct studies for the mining project at several Orang Asli villages in the Jelai forest in Lipis between June 17 and Aug 31.

Suresh remarked that this was not the first time the area was being considered as a mining site, adding that the Pos Lanai Orang Asli had already protested such plans several times.

Suresh Kumar

“The residents here have protested not only verbally but also sent letters to Jakoa. We have been here several times but it seems that Jakoa is not playing their role in listening to the Orang Asli.

“Every time a company applies to conduct studies or mine minerals from the area, they will be given licences and permission. We are disappointed with Jakoa over this. Why are they given licences when the Orang Asli community has protested this many times?” he asked.

Suresh said the latest mining project was the worst thus far as it involved 650 hectares of forest and affected more than 300 families from five to six villages.

Meanwhile, Sivarajan warned that allowing the project could result in a disaster akin to last year’s Kuala Koh crisis where 15 Bateq Orang Asli died.

A Sivarajan

Activists claimed the tragedy could be traced back to environmental destruction and water contamination, but the authorities later identified the infectious disease measles as the cause of death.

Sivarajan said forcing the Pos Lanai Orang Asli to move from their ancestral villages will negatively impact their livelihood and traditional way of life.

“We don’t want their natural resources to be polluted because they rely on rivers. Before this, the Telom river was polluted due to water coming from Cameron Highlands.

“Sungai Suah used to be clean when I used to visit it but now the water is contaminated due to logging. It is very bad and there are signs that this could be another Kuala Koh case,” he added. - Mkini