The Selangor Menteri Besar's press secretariat today issued a statement that media reports saying Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was not aware of small-time sand contractors in the state were not accurate.

It stated that what Abdul Khalid had said was that he was not aware that the royalty charged for sand mining by Selangor government subsidiary Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) had affected these contractors, particularly bumiputeras.

"The Menteri Besar had said the royalty charged was suited to the current market conditions but would ask KSSB to review it if it really adversely affected bumiputera sand contractors," the statement said in clarifying the media reports.

The reports had quoted Abdul Khalid as saying at an astronomy conference in Shah Alam on Friday that he was unaware of the existence of these small-time contractors.

He was then commenting on complaints by the Selangor Malay Sand Operators Action Committee that the royalty at RM6 per tonne was eating into their margins.

- Bernama