‘Mining operators’ refusal to heed rules the problem’
The new standard operating procedures for bauxite mining may have been drawn up, but are the operators ready to toe the line?
Former natural resources and environment minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar believed that the government’s decision to lift the moratorium, imposed in 2016, might have come too soon.
He said the previous federal government had drafted new rules and regulations for mining operators to comply with.
This, he said, was done after establishing a multi-departmental committee, which featured representatives from the police, local councils, Road Transport Department, Pahang government and various teams from the ministry, including legal and geo-science units, to formulate the necessary laws.
The moratorium, he said, was introduced not only to stop environmental degradation, but also to study and prepare for fullfledged rules and regulations for the industry, which at the time was non-existent.
“The whole idea behind the moratorium was not to stop the industry, but to stop it from polluting the environment… it was bad, everything — houses, fields, rivers, roads and schools — were turning red.
“After consulting stakeholders, as well as the Pahang palace, we agreed to impose the moratorium to clean and revive Kuantan, and, at the same time, draw up the rules and regulations for the industry,” he told the New Straits Times.
He said among the items the team came up with was specific routes lorries could use to and from the site and Kuantan Port, the exact times and the types of lorries that could be used.
The lorries, he said, were required to have their cargo bays closed at all times and could only be opened at the mining site and the port.
The committee also underlined the need for mitigation plans in the event of heavy rain and floods, common in the east coast, which would lead to bauxite seeping and polluting waterways.
Wan Junaidi said the stumbling block was not the lack of regulations, which they had drawn up, but the readiness of the operators to comply.
“The rules and regulations were prepared during the moratorium period, but the industry did not complete their part, such as getting the correct lorries, preparing mitigation plans for stockpile sites, as well as the port and mining sites. It was not done.”
He said RM10 million was allocated to ensure that the port complied with the new regulations, but the changes were not completed.
“As far as I’m concerned, once the ministry lifts the moratorium, the operators and industry players must comply with the SOP. Otherwise, we will face the same problem we did back in 2014 to 2016.”