KUANTAN: Bauxite mining operations can begin anytime now so long as the operators are able to abide by the standard operating operators (SOP) set by the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry.
Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said operators interested to carry out bauxite mining activities need to apply officially with the state government and ensure they fulfil all the requirements needed.
"Bauxite mining operations is just waiting to be resumed. We already have an agreement with the ministry.
"Operators have sent their applications for the mining activities and we are now going through them to see who is prepared and qualified to continue forward," he told reporters after the LeadPahang Public Talk at Yayasan Pahang Univeristy College.
Also present were Yayasan Pahang chief executive officer Datuk Mahmud Mohd Nawawi, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pro-Chancellor Tan Sri Dr Arshad Ayub and Universiti Putra Malaysia Board of Directors chairman Tan Sri Dr Ghauth Jasmon.
Last September, its Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the new SOP on bauxite has been finalised and was effective immediately after a special meeting with Wan Rosdy in Putrajaya.
A moratorium was imposed on bauxite mining on Jan 15, 2016 after complaints from residents on 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 last year and had yet to resume operations.
Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy acknowledged that Pahang was blessed with an abundance of resources and it needed to be managed well and transparently to avoid disasters and leakages.
He said that was why the state had established a Unified Enforcement Unit comprising of various federal and state agencies under the state secretary's office.
He cited efforts to clean up Sungai Ichat in Cameron Highlands that had been badly polluted due to illegal land encroachment.
"We needed assistance from the federal government because if it was just us alone, we will not be able to do it.
"We do not have enough manpower and combine resources, we would not be able to enforce Pahang effectively," he said.