After facing six years of protest from Bukit Koman villagers, MCA has agreed to form a joint panel with them to inspect the safety of a controversial local gold mine which uses cyanide.

The villagers say this chemical compound is hazardous to their health.

After sending a memorandum to Parliament last week, the Bukit Koman Action Committee Against the use of Cyanide in Mining of Gold had a meeting with MCA top leaders yesterday at Raub on the various health problems faced by the villagers, said the committee in a statement today.

During the one-hour meeting attended by MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, deputy president Liow Tiong Lai and MCA Wanita chief Ng Yen Yen who is also MP for Raub which covers the area of Bukit Koman, a four-point preliminary consensus was reached:

1. Liow, who is also the health minister, agreed to deploy a medical team to perform detailed checkups on the villagers to identify their state of health.

2. Install permanent around-the-clock air quality monitoring devices around the area of the gold mine, and the recording process will be witnessed by both sides. Underground water will also be tested regularly, and the results of both air and water monitoring will be made public to ensure transparency.

3. Form a panel of experts from both sides. Under the coordination of MCA, the panel is free to enter the gold mine to perform inspections to evaluate whether its operation complies with regulations.

4. Request the mining company to publish a contingency plan for the villagers in case of emergencies, such as accidents to the lorries carrying cyanide or leakage of hazardous chemicals.

"MCA had promised to implement the consensus in short time," said the committee chairperson Wong Kin Hoong in the statement.

Committee members who attended the meeting included Wong, secretary Hue Fui How, vice-chairperson Hue Shieh Lee, consultants Tang Ah Chai and Tan Hui Chun.

MCA had also invited a committee member of Malaysia Mining Association to the meeting.

 Some demands not fulfilled

However, some of the committee's demands have yet to be fulfilled by MCA including suspending the gold mine operation during the inspection, and reproducing an environment impact assessment (EIA) report as the previous EIA report was done in 1996 which cannot reflect the use of cyanide in the gold mining process since 2009.

NONE The committee also expressed regret towards Chua for failing to honour his promise made last year that he will fund the villagers to hire experts.

"Chua said the MCA has hired its own expert, who is a committee member of the Malaysia Mining Association. Therefore if the committee plans to hire its own expert, it has to bear the cost. MCA will not provide any financial support," said Wong ( left ).

According to a Sin Chew Daily report, Chua said both sides will wait for the "independent expert" hired by MCA to propose an effective monitoring solution within two weeks.

The expert will also determine whether the gold mining activities using cyanide has caused pollution to the water and air, he said.

Should the mining company fail to meet the criteria set by the expert, Chua said MCA will "hold a demonstration together with the villagers".

China Press quoted Chua as saying that the expert is beyond politics and charges MCA US$1000 for every hour of his service.

He also urged the committee to hire its own expert to ensure fairness.

Expert wanted

Wong told Malaysiakini that although the committee failed to obtain financial aid from MCA, it will still find an expert to represent them in the inspection and evaluation process.

Since 2006, the residents of Bukit Koman have been protesting against Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd, a company approved by the government to extract gold at a former mine site using cyanide.

NONE Cyanide is used to dissolve residual gold from the Bukit Koman mine that was shut down in the 1970s. The waste is then flushed into a lake, known as the tailing pond, for the cyanide to break down naturally.

A recent survey done by the villagers revealed that 78.1 percent of the residents in surrounding areas were suffering health problems, believed to be related to the cyanide used in local gold mine.

In January this year, the villagers won an appeal in the Federal Court to allow them to challenge the decision of Department of Environment director-general in approving a preliminary environmental impact assessment (PEIA) report for the mining company.

The case is still being heard in court.