Recent Health Ministry surveys have indicated that the occurrence of illness among the residents of Bukit Koman in Raub, Pahang was within the normal range.   

Deputy director-general of health Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said surveys in the area were conducted from August 2009 to June this year and found no evidence to link any symptoms to the use of cyanide in the area’s gold mine.

 

NONE He said findings by a joint research team comprised of the ministry's officials and Raub Anti-Cyanide Group (ACG) which was acknowledged in a dialogue between both parties last month indicated that they were still not able to provide concrete evidence that the cyanide caused health problems in Bukit Koman.  

“However, the state health department will continue to monitor the health of the Bukit Koman residents as the people's well-being is of paramount concern to the ministry,” Dr Lokman Hakim said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today. 

In June, ACG handed over a memorandum to Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai to stop the use of cyanide in the Raub gold mine, claiming that 78 percent of Bukit Koman residents had suffered symptoms allegedly caused by the use of cyanide there. 

- Bernama