COMMENT Taxpayers’ money is again being used, while the people benefiting from the indiscriminate bauxite mining in Kuantan - which had created such a mess in the first place - are let off without any punishment.

Certainly, there are laws such as the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (EQA) and Road Transport Act 1987 that can be used against the culprits?

Although it is welcoming to hear Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan saying that the ministry will activate clean-up activities , the question is: who is paying for the mess?

When Bersih 4 was held in August last year, the steering committee was slapped with a big bill but here in Kuantan, Abdul Rahman has not even mentioned a single sen about getting the culprits to pay.

Instead, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had instructed the local authorities, the Fire and Rescue Department, as well as Alam Flora Sdn Bhd to expedite cleaning-up to ensure the areas affected were back to their normal appearance.

This will mean further constraints on the local authorities’ budget, which should be used for Kuatan's public amenities and beautification programmes. Alam Flora is not going to take up the job for free, while the Fire and Rescue Department should instead focus their attention on firefighting.

We do not know who is ultimately responsible for the fiasco - except for a handful of land officers who were nabbed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) for selling forms.

Where is the commitment?

The bauxite issue in Kuantan - that has riled up the entire nation - shows that the state government has failed to take into consideration the people’s health and welfare, as well as the environment.

Overseeing the state government is Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob himself, who should be responsible for the way that the bauxite mining had gone awry.

Nothing was done to stop the bauxite mining until several NGOs such as Malaysian Nature Society, Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage (Peka), raised the alarm, and Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh finally took the issue to Parliament.

This then became a national issue which had shocked most of us. Despite the moratorium , which will last for three months, will things resume business-as-usual after the period? Have we ever learnt how to respect our environment after all the talks about commitment towards sustainable development?

As Fuziah rightly pointed out in her WhatsApp message, if the river water has a class 5 level of mercury, the biggest challenge is to now bring it back to level 3 or level 2 - which is the reason why the damage control is not easy, costing millions of ringgit.

What the people in Kuantan will need is a total clean-up solution, which Abdul Rahman should have consulted with the stakeholders, before making his clean-up announcement.

“Abdul Rahman’s instructions to clean up the mess will only cover one aspect of the cleaning, which is dirty colour on the signboards and roads,” Fuziah said.

“However, it will not be able to return Kuantan to what it was before. Physically, it may look less red, but the cleaning will not be able to remove the contamination in the river water as well as in the sea.

“Furthermore, when high-powered water machineries are used, the runoff will find its way to the river via the waterways,” she added.

If this is how shallow ministers understand about the environment, how then can they be on Najib’s “People First” cabinet?

Fuziah lamented: “His (Abdul Rahman’s) solution is just a physical clean-up. It may make our view better, but it is not really the solution for a clean-up. How do we ensure our drinking water is not contaminated when mining activities are located upstream to water intake point?”

According to Fuziah, anti-bauxite contamination lobby group Gabungan Menentang Pencemaran Bauksit - which she chairs - has launched a #RedToGreen campaign, after its members realised that they have to reverse the environmental situation.

However, efforts to clean up - despite being a major project - appear to be disjointed, without proper consultation. As a minister, Abdul Rahman should at the very least have consulted the people who have been adversely affected by the indiscriminate mining activities.

Fuziah’s efforts are highly commendable. It is such a big contrast, comparing this one lady’s effort with the people in the corridors of Pahang. If things do not change for the better, Pahang may be the next state domino that will fall into the hands of the opposition.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.