Selangor sand mining policies ‘open to abuse’
SHAH ALAM: Barisan Nasional politicians yesterday hit out at the Selangor government’s sand mining policies.
Klang MCA division vice-chairman Datuk Dr Ching Eu Boon said there was lack of monitoring by the authorities and this had led to sand mining companies “stealing freely”.
He said these companies were becoming more brazen.
“If stealing sand illegally is not bad enough, there is also the ‘licensed pirates’.
“These ‘licensed pirates’ are allowed to mine sand, but they are taking advantage of loopholes by mining more than they should... five or 10 times the amount they are allowed to mine.
“I have received information where ‘the company’ is only allowed one docket, which means it can only mine a lorry-load of sand. But, there have been situations where one docket is used by five to 10 lorries on a daily basis.
“If the authorities let this illegal activities go on, it will lead to abuse of the system and cause Selangor to lose millions of ringgit in the long run,” Ching told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He claimed that such activities were rampant in Sepang, Hulu Langat and coastal areas, such as Kuala Selangor.
Dengkil assemblyman Shahrum Sharif claimed that since Pakatan took over in 2008, sand mining had been placed under the state government-linked company Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB).
“Full authority is given to KSSB and all permit applications are channelled to them. KSSB will direct the land office to issue the permits. This opens up room for abuse because there is no third party in the form of government officers to go through the permit applications. The land office merely functions as a ‘yes man’.”
In response, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali hit out at Ching and Shahrum, saying “MCA and Umno have no moral authority” to speak about sand mining.
“I will adduce statistics to show how we managed the industry since 2008 with open and transparent policies and, in return, increased the revenue for the state. Data and statistics will speak for themselves.” By Dawn Chan