KUANTAN: Felda Bukit Goh Village Community Management Council (MPKK) wants a say in the decision-making process involving settlers’ land here when bauxite mining activities resume in April.
Its chief, Jefri Salim, said unlike previously, the council now wanted to scrutinise the content of the agreement that would be signed between Felda settlers and bauxite mining operators to ensure that everything was done transparently and settlers were fully aware of the details.
He said the council planned to add clauses in the agreement, like collecting a certain amount of cash for the replanting costs after the 4.4ha plot was mined or in case the operator decided to abandon the mines.
“The settlers are excited (that mining will resume), but the council does not want them to end up on the losing side or get cheated.
“Our role is to assist settlers on existing agreements that they signed previously and check if the agreements are still valid.
“We want to engage operators to offer jobs to people in the settlement and see how mining can create an economic spillover.
“It has to be a win-win situation and everyone in Bukit Goh should benefit, not only settlers who lease their land for mining.”
Jefri, who was elected Felda Bukit Goh MPKK chief in November, said council members would sit down with operators to iron out an agreement before allowing them to start work in April.
“Some claim old agreements signed by settlers are still valid, but we need to look into it.
“We are not sure if former mining operators will return to
work here as it has been almost three years since they abandoned their operations.
“The council has proposed that a certain amount of money be collected from operators for replanting costs as a guarantee that settlers will not feel cheated in case something goes wrong.
“We will set up a special fund using money collected from the sale of bauxite ore for organising community programmes, and repair works in the settlement,” he said, adding that the council had agreed to set up a committee to monitor the mining until it was completed.
He said the council would meet Sungai Lembing assemblyman Datuk Md Sohaimi Mohamed Shah soon to discuss their recommendations to safeguard the interests of settlers.
A settler, who wanted to be identified only as Kamaruddin, said the previous Felda Bukit Goh Village Security and Development Committee did not do much to assist settlers, which resulted in some of them being cheated by miners.
He said settlers hoped that operators would come up with attractive offers as in the past a settler would receive RM20,000 upon signing an agreement and RM200,000 as advance payment when their 4.4ha plot was mined for bauxite.
On Monday, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar said the moratorium on the mining and export of bauxite, which ends on March 31, would not be extended.
He said mining could resume in April with the introduction of a standard operating procedure as well as tighter enforcement.