'Ecological homicide': Peka calls for answers on Sabah coal mining

Summary

• Environmental NGO Peka wants full transparency on coal mining in Sabah after a former aide of the prime minister was implicated in a scandal.

• Peka says the proposed open-pit coal mine will cause massive and irreversible environmental damage if it is approved, including air and water pollution, deforestation, landslides, etc.

• The group also wants a moratorium on all fossil fuel exploration in Sabah, saying the state is not a “sacrificial zone”.

The Organisation for the Preservation of National Heritage Malaysia (Peka) has called for full transparency over coal mining in Sabah following a scandal implicating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former aide, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak.

Peka sounded the alarm over allegations that 70,000ha - roughly 173,000 acres - of protected forest reserves in Kalabakan and Gunung Rara were earmarked for the project, denouncing it as an act of “ecological homicide.”

Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd (SMM) subsequently said it granted “conditional permission” to Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd to apply for a prospecting licence, but it was later cancelled after the company failed to submit the required documents.

In a statement, Peka reaffirmed its unwavering position against any coal mining developments in Sabah’s vital biodiversity zones, whether provisional, cancelled, or otherwise.

“There can be no shortcuts, no ‘conditional permissions’, no backdoor manoeuvres. SMM must practice full transparency and provide all stakeholders with a copy of the EIA (environmental impact assessment) report,” said Peka president Rajesh Nagaran and secretary-general Vimala Raghawan.

‘Irreversible environmental damage’

Peka said the Kalabakan district is home to about 53,200 residents (2023 census) living in villages along forest edges and river valleys, and the people would be exposed to dust, acidic runoff, and toxic pollutants resulting from coal mining. 

“The proposed open-pit coal mining on a hitherto unheard of scale will lead to massive land clearing and exploitation of the land that will undoubtedly damage the entire ecosystem of Sabah. 

“It would cause irreversible destruction of land, widespread deforestation, air and water pollution, and serious geological disasters such as landslides and ground subsidence, burning cavities, sinkholes, and landslides due to subsoil destabilisation, all of which are also life-threatening to surrounding communities,” they added.

Peka said nitrous oxide, one of the gases released when coal is burned, is a climate super‑pollutant, with a Global Warming Potential approximately 270-300 times that of carbon dioxide over 100 years, and it persists in the atmosphere for over a century. 

“What of the habitat of the Borneo pygmy elephants who call Kalabakan their home - 173,000 acres of elephant habitat will become a barren, polluted land that will no doubt become the death knell for these pygmy elephants. 

“With only 387 Bornean pygmy elephants left in central Sabah, the clearing of 173,000 acres in Kalabakan and Gunung Rara isn’t just deforestation, it’s a surety that these elephants will become extinct,” Peka said.

Peka said to even “entertain a devastation of this magnitude is a moral outrage and a betrayal of public trust unthinkable under any ethical government, let alone one that brands itself ‘Madani’”.

Not walking the talk

Peka also cited a Reuters report from May, which quoted Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani decrying the EU’s “standard risk” label under its new Anti-Deforestation Regulation as unfair and outdated.

“How can Malaysia claim unfairness while coal mining proposals in ecologically critical areas like Kalabakan and Gunung Rara are (purportedly) still on the table.

“Johari must walk the talk, hold Sabah accountable, and demand full disclosure. Such contradictions erode Malaysia’s ESG credibility, deter investors, and risk exclusion from global sustainable trade,” Peka added.

The organisation also made several demands, including full transparency from the Sabah government on all conditional, provisional, or proposed forest-related projects, including past and future coal exploration discussions in the Kalabakan and Gunung Rara forest area.

Other demands include:

• Immediate release of all board minutes, correspondence, and agreements related to Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd and any other companies granted conditional and/or any other form of permission.

• Permanent moratorium on any form of fossil fuel exploration in Sabah’s rainforest reserves.

• Full disclosure and an independent review of all forest-related approvals, starting with Sabah, and for Johari to initiate this process without delay to restore Malaysia’s ESG credibility.

“Sabah is not a sacrificial zone. Coal is not development, it is destruction. It pollutes our air, poisons our water, displaces indigenous and rural communities, and robs the world of animal species found nowhere else.

“This entire project - licence or not - is an insult to our collective intelligence, an assault on the planet, and an environmental betrayal to the rakyat,” Peka emphasised.

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