ALOR STAR: A local activist has echoed the recent call by Sahabat Alam Malaysia which objected to the mining of non-radioactive rare earth element (NR-REE) mineral resources in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in the district of Sik.
Kedah chapter Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera Malaysia (GRASS) activist Mohd Sobri Ramlee said any rare earth mining activity was against the forestry regulations.
"This is based on Section 2, Enactment (Usage) National Forestry 1985 and the same section Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313) as well as the stand decided by a special committee studying the impact of lanthanide mining in forest reserves in 2020, that REE minerals are not included in forest products," he said in a statement today.
He claimed that ongoing exploration of REE minerals since Dec 2020 and the collaboration between Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), Jangka Bakat Minerals Sdn Bhd and Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd were against the Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313).
"It has also opened the floodgates for irresponsible parties to carry out illegal mining which is causing losses of millions of ringgit to the state government," he said.
It was reported that on Oct 31 last year that an illegal miner was slapped with a RM630,000 compound for trespassing and carrying out illegal mining in Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve.
In February, the Kedah Forestry Department arrested 52 people for allegedly mining REE minerals illegally in the same forest reserve.
"The National Land Council in its 70th Meeting in 2014 decided that state authorities should take initiatives to control, or as much as possible avoid, approving any mining and quarrying activity in Permanent Forest Reserve.
"Based on the Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313), any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should not be carried out since it already violated the existing Act.
"The state government should be taking a firm stand in looking after natural resources in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserves.
"Any amendment into the Kedah Forestry Enactment to alienate (any forest reserve land) should involve public engagement following suspicion of illegal mining in Bukit Enggang," he said.
Sobri reminded the state government that the local people in the area were still depending on natural river streams in Bukit Enggang for water.
He added that any works in the forest reserve would have a direct impact on the villagers' clean water supply.
Last week, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) urged the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry to ensure that the Kedah government does not approve the mining of non-radioactive rare earth element (NR-REE) mineral resources in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve.
SAM president Meenakshi Raman was reported as saying although Article 74 (2) of the Federal Constitution, read together with List II in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution provides that forests are under the jurisdiction of the state government, the federal government can advise the state government that all policies, rulings and commitments related to forests decided at the federal level are applied at the state level.
In response, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the state has never approved mining activities in Bukit Enggang, pending the completion of an ongoing EIA study.
He was reported as saying the approval to Prospek Suria Sdn Bhd was for exploration and not mining.
Sanusi also stressed that the state would not approve any mining activity pending the release of a standard operating procedure by Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry on non-radioactive rare earth element mining.