Group walks from Kuantan to Parliament to protest against bauxite mining

KUALA LUMPUR: The current heat wave proved no deterrent to a group of 30 individuals who marched all the way from Kuantan to Parliament to protest against bauxite mining in the state.
The members of the Red2Green walked more than 300km from Beserah, Kuantan, to present a memorandum calling for a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to govern bauxite mining activities in the state.
Programme director Jefri Jaafar Tukemin said members of the group aged between 24 to 62-years-old started their walk on March 12.
"We want the government to realise how the locals in Kuantan have suffered due to the uncontrolled bauxite mining there," he said when met in front of Parliament today.
The group's memorandum was received by the principal assistant secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Mohd Nazif Jamaludin.
Jefri said the group's aim was not for bauxite mining to be stopped, but for it to be done in a controlled manner according to a SOP.
"There must be a SOP to govern the activity, from the mining stage until its end product.
"We are asking for it to be conducted responsibly, with rules and regulations to follow," he added.
Jefri said the group did not encounter major hindrances in their journey, though a few members did pass out from the heat.
"However this did not deter our spirit. We are bringing the voice of rakyat. The government should understand that this is not a political issue," he added.