MB INC TO PROBE SAND EXPORT CLAIM
Investigation will find out source of sand allegedly exported to India, says CEO
PERAK’S Menteri Besar Incorporated (MB Inc) has initiated an investigation following reports that sand from the state may have been exported to India.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Aminudin Hashim, said investigations focused on determining the source of the exported sand.
“We are looking at the possibility that the sand may have been exported from other states, but the exporter declared that it was from Perak.
“This is a serious allegation as our reputation is at stake.
“We will investigate until we get to the bottom of the issue,” he told the New Straits Times.
He said all sand dredging activities and every load of sand brought out of the state were recorded by the corporation.
“If such a huge area or load is being mined, of course we will know about it, but there is no such thing,” he said, adding that MB Inc had taken charge of sand mining in the state at the end of 2015.
He said although there were about 10 applications from companies to send sand to India, MB Inc had not approved any of them.
“As far as we are concerned, within our area of jurisdiction of three nautical miles (from land), we have not issued any permit (to mine and export sand). To get approval involves a stringent process.”
He said about 30,000 tonnes of sand were sent by road to the Klang Valley daily.
He said that the state had at least 30 active sand mining sites.
Manjung District Officer Mohamad Fariz Mohamad Hanip said his office had not issued any licence for sand dredging in Sitiawan.
“I was shocked when I was asked about a foreign report that claimed that sand from Sitiawan is being sold in India.
“We have not issued any permits for sand mining in Sitiawan. We don’t even have a river in Sitiawan or a mining area.
“We are closely monitoring all sand dredging in Manjung district with drones, so we will know if there is any illegal sand dredging.”
Fariz said no arrest had been made this year involving illegal sand mining in the district.
Singapore’s The Straits Times had reported that an Indian trading company in Tamil Nadu had posted an advertisement for the sale of river sand it claimed came from Sitiawan.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, however, had said the government only allowed sand dredged from Sungai Pahang and Sungai Kelantan to be exported.
He had said while the ban for sand export was still in effect, the ministry had issued special Approved Permits for sand to be dredged from the two rivers.
This is because sand needed to be dug up from the two rivers anyway as a flood mitigation measure.