Discussion on bauxite must involve local community: Geram

KUANTAN: The parties involved in bauxite mining activities should include the local people in discussions in order to find the best solution to the issue.
Stop Bauxite Pollution People's Movement (Geram) chairman Ali Akbar Othman said the opinion of the locals should be considered because they were among those affected by the mining.
He said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) decision to withdraw the seizure order of 10 million tonnes of bauxite stockpile in Pahang would have a negative effect if there was no effective monitoring.
"During the moratorium period, the life of the locals was good as they no longer had to suffer the effects from the greed of the bauxite traders. Their surroundings were no longer dirty and dusty and there was no traffic congestion.
"This will change if the government is not serious about providing an effective mechanism to control the mining and transporting of bauxite," he said when contacted, here today.
Ali Akbar said the state government should hold talks with the enforcement agencies, community representatives, and bauxite operators to find a 'win-win solution'.
Meanwhile, Beserah State assemblyman Andasura Rabu said bauxite-related activities should not be allowed until improvements were made or new guidelines for the standard operating procedure were drawn up.
He urged the MACC to reveal if there were elements of corruption in the mining activities so that appropriate steps could be immediately taken.
"The proposal that all those involved in the bauxite activities take an oath could turn out to be empty promises which cannot curb corrupt practices in the future," he added.
Last Thursday, MACC deputy chief commissioner (Operations) Datuk Sri Azam Baki announced that they were withdrawing the seizure order on the bauxite stockpile.
That decision followed a decision by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Minerals and Geoscience, and the Pahang state government to introduce new rulings for bauxite operators.
These include requiring the bauxite operators to sign an oath before the ministry would approve any application for an Approval Permit (AP) for them to take out the stockpile, including declaring that they were not involved in corruption and abuse of power.
Today, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued a statement that the moratorium period which was scheduled to end on Dec 31, would be extended to June 30 next year, with some improvements. — Bernama