About 150 Kampung Sokor settlers in Tanah Merah staged a peaceful protest on gold mining activities by several companies, claiming that the rubber estates that they had been working on in Bukit Cadang, Bukit Saujana and Bukit Kandang Kerbau since 2008, have been trespassed.

They claimed that the companies had turned eight hectares out of the 404-hectare land into a gold mine and road leading to the area for lorries to transport the mineral, without negotiating with the settlers before the mining activities took place.

A 53-year-old settler, Mohd Roffi Seman said some of the settlers incurred thousands of ringgit in loses after their rubber estates were destroyed over the past two months without any compensation.

“There was a representative from the mining companies who came to see the settlers and mentioned about paying compensation between RM17 and RM25 for each tree that was cut down. However, after two months now, the settlers have not received the money,” he told reporters at the protest in Tanah Merah yesterday.

Mohd Roffi also said they had met with a representative from the Tanah Merah Land Office for verification but was told that the authority body was not aware of the matter nor approved any kind of mining activities in the area.

- Bernama