KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Over two years after a plan was approved by the Pahang State Executive Council to declare an area covering 4,600 hectares at Tasik Chini as a forest reserve to protect biodiversity there, the decision has yet to be gazetted.

Malaysiakini reported Pahang Forestry Department director Mohd Hizamri Mohd Yasin saying in a statement last Sunday that the department would propose to the state government to make the Tasik Chini area a protected forest after the gazettement has been completed.

"It will be (gazetted) in the near future. I cannot specify when as this matter is under the Pekan Land and District Office and the Pahang Survey and Mapping Department,” he was reported saying.

Last week, Pahang regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah ordered the said area to be expanded to 6,000 or up to 7,000 hectares from the current 4,600 hectares, national news agency Bernama reported.

Comptroller of the Royal Household of the Sultan of Pahang, Datuk Ahmad Khirrizal Ab Rahman said that the command was aimed at protecting and conserving the flora and fauna in the Tasik Chini area.

Ahmad Khirrizal said that the regent had made a surprise visit to Tasik Chini following reports and photos on social media which claimed mining activities were ongoing in the area.

Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail subsequently issued a statement, saying that the administration would comply with the order.

However, Malaysiakini reported that the original area is facing hurdles to be officially turned into a permanent forest reserve, as according to Hizamri, "several mining licences are still in effect”, with said licences granted prior to 2019 before a moratorium was imposed on the issuance of new licences.

Those who had already obtained their licenses, therefore, can continue mining in the area.

"Asked if the gazettement can only happen after all mining licences expired, Hizamri said: "We abide by his majesty (Tengku Hassanal’s) decree,” the report said.

Malaysiakini reported that the Pahang Land and Minerals Office has said that prior to the ‘gazettement’ in 2019, a total of 14 mining licences were issued, of which only two are still valid.

The office was reported saying that both the said licences would expire this year, with one at the end of this month.

 Raub MP Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji, the then deputy water, land and natural resources minister during Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) short stint as the federal government, however disputed the Pahang Land and Minerals Office’s explanation.

"I visited Tasik Chini in April 2019... I was told that there was only one mining licence that was still active and that it would expire in October that year.

"How come now, in 2021, that there are two mining licences still active?” he was quoted saying.

Tengku Zulpuri said he suspected that more mining licences may have been approved after PH tumbled last year, calling on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the matter.

The online news portal reported that as early as last month, efforts were still going on to commence mining operations in the area.

On June 3, it was reported that Hanishah Ventures Sdn Bhd, a royalty-linked firm, was seeking to commence mining operations in a site about 3km from Tasik Chini.

The Pahang state government had given an exemption to the manganese mine, even though the site was categorised as Environmentally Sensitive Area Level 2, the report said.

Under this category, the area can be developed with certain conditions but mining activities are not allowed. The plan became public after it underwent an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The Pahang Land and Minerals Office and Wan Rosdy’s office reportedly did not respond to Malaysiakini’s request for comment on the matter.