Jul 28, 2010

Khir alleges another illegal mine in Batang Berjuntai

KUALA SELANGOR: Another suspected illegal sand mine, located some 29.5km off the main road in Batang Berjuntai, is feared to be harming part of Sungai Selangor running through a nearby village.

Selangor Opposition chief Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo brought the media to the village called Lot Kambing Susu – some 1km away from the mining site – yesterday.

He alleged that the mining activity upstream had caused part of Sungai Selangor in the village to be filled with sludge and silt.

“The villagers use the river water as a drinking source for their livestocks, which are mainly goats and cows.

“The state government must rehabilitate the polluted part of the river as there are water catchments further downstream,” he said.

Dr Khir recently alleged that sand was being illegally mined in Dengkil – some 50m from two lakes within the Paya Indah Wetlands – and Rasa in Hulu Selangor.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim countered by saying that the picture of the sand mine published by the media was taken from a legal mining area in Kampung Olak Lempit and not at the Dengkil site as claimed by Dr Khir.

As for the Rasa allegation, Khalid reportedly said he would visit the place soon with Dr Khir to ascertain the status of the mine.

On July 15, Khalid set a 12-month time frame to resolve the sand controversy in Selangor.

Khalid had drawn flak from various quarters including the Deputy Prime Minister and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek over the illegal sand mining controversy.

Two weeks ago, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the issue was made to appear difficult, although the solution was quite straightforward.

“Catch the perpetrators, punish them and expose the cover-ups,” he said.

On Sunday, Dr Chua questioned the Selangor Government over its failure to deliver the RM150mil from the sale of sand as promised.

In Kuala Lumpur, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called on the enforcement authorities to put a stop to the illegal activity.

“There are so many lorries parked along the roadside. They (enforcement officers) can just stop these lorries and query where they are getting the sand from.

“From there, you will be able to take appropriate action. It’s very simple. But nothing seems to be done,” he said after his keynote address at an environmental awareness seminar.

In Balik Pulau, the Penang Survey and Mapping Department has been instructed by the state Public Accounts Standing Committee (PAC) to submit a report on Aug 2 about the extent of the alleged sand theft at a construction site.

PAC chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo and his team visited the site for the first time yesterday after they started a probe on the matter.