KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — A legal exploit used by a mining project in Langkawi’s Gunung Raya Forest Reserve to bypass the need for an environmental impact assessment was a dangerous precedent, warned critics and conservation groups
According to The Straits Times, the project in the 10-million-year-old rainforest was sized at 19ha, just below the 20ha limit that would trigger the requirement for it to provide the Department of Environment with an EIA for approval.
In 2017, a 40ha wide logging and mining concession was granted to Yiked, a subsidiary of the state-controlled Kedah Islamic Foundation (YINK), by the then Barisan Nasional government.
The project was rejected by the DOE on the basis that “the site is within an Sensitive Environmental Area Class 1 where no development can be approved,” the Singapore daily reported.
However, the current PAS-led Kedah government approved “the removal of timber remnants for the purpose of sand mining” for a 19ha site in the same area in May 2021.
Locals had been unaware of the project and were only alerted to its existence when land surveyors showed up this January.
“If this project isn’t stopped, then state governments are going to be able to approve projects anywhere they like — including forest reserves, water catchment areas, and coastal areas — as long as they come under the minimum area.
“Worse still, they can daisy-chain the approvals to huge sizes, making a mockery of the existing regulations,” Protect Gunung Raya (PGR) president Zhariff Afandi was quoted as saying.
PGR said that another 19ha plot for sand mining is in proposal stages by the state government next to the first site, with concessions said to be handed to Permodalan Kedah Berhad (PKB), a state-owned investment firm.
Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor of PAS was the chairman of both YINK and PKB.
Sanusi denied claims that he approved the projects, insisting they were initiated by previous administrations.
According to Sanusi’s office, only a 3.5ha mine approved in 1989 is currently operational, while 40ha lots granted to Yiked and PKB in 2017 were not.
He further asserted that the application for the 19ha Yiked site was approved by the state government in April 2020, weeks before former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir lost support and resigned from the post.
Mukhriz said he did not recall approving the projects and would take Sanusi’s claims at “face value,” but insisted that such matters usually went before the state executive council first.
“In hindsight, this is a typical situation where loopholes were taken advantage of. Sometimes we are not given full disclosure. Now, when I look at all the information, why doesn’t the current chief minister have it stopped?” Mukhriz told the ST.
During a meeting with PGR, state DOE officials said they could not intervene due to the loophole, even as they acknowledged that the mining projects could affect the water catchment for the Padang Saga treatment plant.
The ST said Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man — coincidentally the deputy president of PAS, the same party as Sanusi — and the DOE did not respond when asked if there were plans to close the loophole.
Sukmas Dimensi, a private construction firm partnered with Yiked, asserted that they will only clear as much land as needed to access areas it plans to mine, estimating it to be in segments of 5ha at a time.
“There is a technical committee that will monitor and advise on the best way to proceed with acquiring the sand. We have not even touched a branch of a tree,” managing director Romli Bakar told ST, adding that work is expected to begin early next year.
He added that he had approached another firm, Kedah Cement, a subsidiary of conglomerate YTL, on behalf of Yiked to sell 30-year rights to the 40ha in Gunung Raya for RM6 million, despite only 19ha being approved.
The proposal has so far not been successful, he said. He also confirmed that plans for the second 19ha plot would not need an EIA.
Sand mining projects in the Gunung Raya could threaten Langkawi’s already limited water supply. Two-thirds of Langkawi’s water needs are piped in from mainland Malaysia.
The resort island’s water woes are not new. Langkawi’s booming tourism industry had previously warned of a critical water shortage by 2020, but the demand for water was alleviated by the lack of tourism during the two years of Covid-19 global lockdowns.
The island needs 30 per cent more water by 2030 to meet its growing demands, while a second pipeline is estimated to take three years to complete.
“Water supply was already a problem in Langkawi. Now tourism is picking up again, but if there is not enough water it might stunt the industry,” said Mukhriz.
Careless development could cause also jeopardise Langkawi’s Unesco Global Geopark status, due in 2023.
Langkawi, an archipelago of 99 islands that began forming over 500 million years ago, was the first in South-east Asia to attain this recognition in 2007 for its geological importance to the region and conservation of nature.
Last month, environmental influencers Roman and Fizah Onillon embarked on a three-week-long 500km walk from Kuala Lumpur to Gunung Raya, to raise awareness about the dangerous precedent that these projects could set in Kedah.
“We need to keep talking about it. If these kinds of projects continue, it will hurt wildlife, it will hurt tourism,” said Fizah.
