DAP MP: K'tan govt neglected Orang Asli welfare in mining controversy

Summary

• Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong accuses the Kelantan government of neglecting Orang Asli welfare by granting iron ore mining licences without legal approvals.

• Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Rubiah Wang confirms that the Orang Asli Development Department was unaware of the matter.

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Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong has accused the Kelantan government of neglecting the welfare of the Orang Asli community by granting an iron ore mining licence without necessary legal approvals.

“The root cause of this issue is clearly the Kelantan government, which allowed two mining companies to operate within an Orang Asli settlement,” he said.

Khoo said this yesterday when he received responses to his motion in the Special Chambers of Parliament concerning the suspected heavy metal poisoning of a Temiar community in Kampung Kelaik, Gua Musang, Kelantan.

A Malaysiakini exposé last December revealed high levels of chromium - a carcinogenic heavy metal - in the blood of one of six Orang Asli villagers whose families have been living downriver from the mines for generations.

READ MORE: Heavy metals found in Kelantan Orang Asli blood, community fear poisoned by mining

“The state government should be held accountable for sidelining the welfare and interests of the Orang Asli in Kelantan,” he said when he received responses from Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Rubiah Wang, who was responding for the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa).

Although Jakoa had classified the land as indigenous land, it was registered under the state government.

Rubiah explained: “The land is designated as ‘tanah adat’ (customary land) and is gazetted as indigenous reserve land but it’s gazetted under the laws that govern the state authority, specifically Section 62 of the National Land Code (Act 828) where the state secretary serves as the supervising officer.”

Rubiah said Jakoa was unaware that the two mining companies were issued mining licences.

“Before an EIA (environmental impact assessment) is approved, Jakoa provides input, but upon cross-checking with Kelantan Environment Department (DOE), it was found that Aqua Orion (Sdn Bhd) never received EIA approval for mining operations,” she revealed.

Rubiah also dismissed assertions that Jakoa consented to the mining activities, explaining that the authority to issue mining permits and licences lay with the state government, as per the Federal Constitution and the National Land Code 1965.

The deputy minister clarified that the issue is unrelated to Jakoa, as the department was not informed of or involved in activity approvals in the area.

ALSO READ: Orang Asli vs Jakoa: Conflicting accounts on polluted river complaints

She said Jakoa oversees over 8,000ha of gazetted land to protect the welfare of indigenous residents, but approvals did not go through the department unless complaints were received.

No EIA report

In the exposé, it was revealed that one of the mining contractors, Aqua Orion had been mining for nine years without an approved EIA report.

The other company is Redstar Capital Sdn Bhd.

Both mining operations were halted over suspected heavy metal contamination in nearby rivers, pending investigations.

The other mine, which started in 2009, obtained an EIA a decade later after it became a legal requirement.

Its mining contractor, Redstar Capital told Malaysiakini it applied a “closed circuit” system with a “zero discharge” concept, complied with all standard effluent limits and never received any complaints from the villagers.

Mining activities require an EIA, prepared by the extraction company and approved by the DOE after public consultation.

The EIA evaluates and mitigates potential environmental harm, ensuring sustainable resource extraction and compliance with laws regulating industrial effluent and waste management.

Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad also confirmed an internal investigation into how one mine operated for nine years without an EIA.

State bypassed EIA requirement

Earlier this month, Nik Nazmi confirmed that the state government had issued a mining licence despite the company lacking an approved EIA report.

He also confirmed that the ministry was conducting an internal investigation into how an iron ore mine operated for nine years without it.

EIA approval falls under the jurisdiction of the DOE, while the Minerals and Geoscience Department monitors mining operations and the state government issues mining licences.

However, Nik Nazmi dismissed claims that the state bypassed the EIA requirement because it was governed by an opposition party.

He said EIA reports were a requirement even at the state-level licence approvals stage.

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