Villagers surrounding the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik, Kedah, have called on the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the theft of rare earth elements (REE) from the area.
This is because the mining activities could be illegal as there was no environmental impact assessment (EIA) obtained beforehand, they said.
A villager, 54-year-old Zulkifly Hassan, said if the mining was legal, then the company does not have to engage undocumented foreigners to do the work.
“They (the foreigners) behave like gangsters and their presence could be a safety and security threat to the locals, including the villagers,” he said during a peaceful demonstration at the entrance to the Bukit Enggang REE mining site today.
According to Zulkifly, the mining activities had been going on for several years and the villagers had lodged reports to the police, the state Forestry Department, and the Department of Environment to no avail.
“This is happening in Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s constituency (Jeneri), yet he says he does not know what is happening here.
“We want Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to intervene to resolve the problem and to save the villagers, the state, and Mother Nature before the situation gets out of hand.”
Sanusi recently asked the public to not jump to conclusions regarding the alleged theft of REE in the area.
He also said that it is unfair to link the state government to the issue and that there was no evidence linking the 52 suspects arrested at the forest reserve last week to such activity.
Today’s demonstration was jointly organised by Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera (Grass) Kedah, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), and Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (PEKA).
Villagers surrounding the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik, Kedah, have called on the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the theft of rare earth elements (REE) from the area.
This is because the mining activities could be illegal as there was no environmental impact assessment (EIA) obtained beforehand, they said.
A villager, 54-year-old Zulkifly Hassan, said if the mining was legal, then the company does not have to engage undocumented foreigners to do the work.
“They (the foreigners) behave like gangsters and their presence could be a safety and security threat to the locals, including the villagers,” he said during a peaceful demonstration at the entrance to the Bukit Enggang REE mining site today.
According to Zulkifly, the mining activities had been going on for several years and the villagers had lodged reports to the police, the state Forestry Department, and the Department of Environment to no avail.
“This is happening in Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s constituency (Jeneri), yet he says he does not know what is happening here.
“We want Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to intervene to resolve the problem and to save the villagers, the state, and Mother Nature before the situation gets out of hand.”
Sanusi recently asked the public to not jump to conclusions regarding the alleged theft of REE in the area.
He also said that it is unfair to link the state government to the issue and that there was no evidence linking the 52 suspects arrested at the forest reserve last week to such activity.
Today’s demonstration was jointly organised by Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera (Grass) Kedah, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), and Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (PEKA).
‘How can Sanusi not know?’
Grass adviser Mohd Sobri Romlee claimed that in January 2020, Sanusi announced the licence for exploration for a foreign company to take REE from the state, and in September last year, an individual was arrested near the mining site for conducting illegal activities.
“The individual, a Chinese national, was fined RM630,000 and the state should have investigated how an individual managed to pay such a hefty sum to settle the compound,” he said.
Sobri said the REE in Bukit Enggang is the nation’s treasure and access should not be allowed to foreigners.
“Last month, Sanusi again announced an MOU signing between Jangka Bakat Mineral Sdn Bhd and Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd for exploration works in the state, and he expressed his interest in REE while not being serious about the environmental issues in the state,” Sobri alleged.
Former Jeneri assemblyperson Mahadzir Abdul Hamid, who was present at the demonstration, expressed his disappointment at his successor’s handling of the matter.
“How can Sanusi, being the MB and the assemblyperson of Jeneri, say that he does not know about the illegal mining in Bukit Enggang?
“I’m surprised that elected representatives who used the issue as campaign fodder in the 14th general election are quiet about it now.”
- Mkini
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