The English daily learnt that in the last three months alone, the Kuantan Port which has the basic capacity of handling one million tonnes of bauxite each month had adjusted its operations to facilitate Kuantan’s bauxite export to 3.5 million tonnes.
“If these numbers are anything to go by, some 80 per cent of the earnings have not been accounted for,” the NST wrote, adding that the Pahang government stood to lose more revenue should it revise the levy on bauxite production from RM4 to RM8 per tonne.
The daily also established that last year, total bauxite output from the state was no less than 27 million tonnes.
This, it wrote, it should have earned Pahang at least RM108 million from bauxite exports.
NST went on to quote chief operating officer of Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd (KPC), Khasbullah A Kadir as saying that as the “support operator” it was not up to them to determine if goods were legitimately sourced.
“We have no right to even open cargo to check, as they come under the Customs’ (Department) authority,” he said.
Pahang Customs deputy enforcement director Sarip Ismail meanwhile said it allowed exports once permits by the Minerals and Geo-Science Department were issued.
Sarip, however said he was not sure if the Minerals and Geo-Science Department carried out its own due diligence.
He also pointed out that the state’s Land and Mines Office had full jurisdiction to check if miners were licensed or not.