Bauxite inspection centres to operate for 3 more months
PEKAN: The nine 24-hour inspection centres that ensure bauxite mining operators abide by the stop work order in the state capital will continue operating, following the extension of the moratorium for another three months, until March 31 next year.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Sharifuddin Ab Ghani said the centres, which began operating round the clock since Jan 9, will continue enforcement duties as usual, but with no additional manpower or new centres.
He said police would work closely with the Land and Mines Department, Road Transport Department and the Land Public Transport Commission to monitor the alleged illegal bauxite mining during the moratorium.
“To date, there has been no signs of illegal mining, but the enforcement agencies will continue to monitor the situation on the ground,” he said after launching the operations for the newly-built RM34 million district police headquarters, which has an in-house shooting range, here, yesterday.
The checkpoints are at Bukit Kuantan, Tanjung Pasir, Kampung Padang, Taman Datuk Rashid, Shahpadu, Bukit Penggorak, Sungai Ular, Jabor, and in front of the Sirim Bhd office here.
On Dec 23, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar was quoted as saying that several heaps of bauxite, which he noticed during an aerial surveillance, could either be signs of illegal mining or bauxite left behind by legal miners before the moratorium was imposed.
The moratorium was extended for the fourth time last week, since a three-month moratorium was first imposed on Jan 15, to address concerns over pollution and lack of regulations.
Sharifuddin reminded policemen here not to be influenced by terror group Islamic State (IS) as it would not only give them a bad name but would tarnish the image of the police force.
Describing the threat as real, he said policemen should take the cue from the arrest and recent conviction of two of their colleagues over involvement in militant activities.
He said to date, 13 individuals from the state — five from Jerantut, Kuantan (three), Maran (two) and one each from Pekan, Temerloh and Raub — had been nabbed in relation to suspected militant activities.
On flood preparations, Sharifuddin urged parents to keep a close watch during floods and not to allow them to play outside, especially when it rained continuously.
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