KAJANG: The "main player" in the illegal extraction of bauxite in Pahang is a "Datuk Seri", the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has revealed.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the extracted bauxite was transported to Terengganu.
"No permits were issued (to extract and transport the bauxite," he told reporters after a shooting competition organised by MACC here today.
On Thursday, MACC arrested three people including a Pahang government official in a crackdown on the illegal extraction of bauxite in the state.
The official, who is attached to a state government agency, is believed to have accepted bribes to protect the illegal extraction of minerals.
MACC also raided a store in Jabor, Terengganu, where the minerals were kept.
Azam today said the police have also taken action in relation to the case.
"MACC is taking action under the MACC Act, including freezing the accounts of companies involved."
Azam said the case was still being probed and that MACC has yet to meet representatives from the agency the arrested official belonged to.
The case is being investigated under Section 16 of the MACC Act for bribery.
In 2016, a moratorium was imposed on bauxite mining after complaints from Pahang residents about air pollution and dangers posed by lorries transporting the mineral.
Excessive bauxite mining had caused several areas around Kuantan to be enveloped in red dust and nicknamed "Planet Mars".
It also turned the rivers in Kuantan red.
The moratorium expired on March 31, 2019.
In 2020, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said bauxite mining could resume so long as operators adhered to the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry's standard operating procedures