ILLEGAL EXCAVATION WORK CLAIMS TWO LIVES

KUALA LUMPUR: Illegal excavation work at the foot of Gunung Jerai in Kedah resulted in a landslide that took two lives. Malaysian Department of Minerals and Geoscience (JMG) director-general Datuk Shahar Effendi Abdullah Azizi said checks at JMG offices in Kedah, Perlis and Penang found that no mineral tenement (mine lease or exploration license) had been issued by state authorities. “Based on a review of records from the JMG One-Stop Centre, there was no application for planning permission and Permit 4C, which is the land use review for the issuance of mineral or soil permits at the site,” he said in a statement yesterday. According to Shahar Effendi, the incident was caused by excavation activity, and not a natural geological disaster. “The weather was good and there was no rain during the landslide. A search and rescue operation was also carried out on a stable slope, in good weather,” Shahar said. On Monday at 1.15 pm, he said the search was called off after the bodies of the two victims were retrieved. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has urged the state government, through the Office of Land and Mines, to conduct further investigations. They victims are believed to have been digging for gold and have been doing so at the site for the past 10 years. – Bernama