“It’s not just about clearing the stockpiles.
“We are also concerned about rehabilitating the environment,” she told FMT when contacted.
The PKR lawmaker was commenting on the extension of the moratorium announced by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar yesterday.
He has given those given Approved Permits until Dec 31 to clear the stockpiles or risk losing them.
Fuziah said soil erosion at former mining spots was irreversible.
“When the soil erodes, heavy metal particles from the mining spot will flow into the river. This will pose a hazard to the people of Kuantan.”
She also warned that the coming monsoon could pose a bigger threat should Kuantan be struck by floods.
“If the stockpile is not cleared, it can cause (toxic) mud floods. Kuantan is a low area, so it’s very dangerous for the people.”
Only 1.27 million tonnes of the stockpiles, mostly at Kuantan Port, have been cleared since the moratorium was first imposed on Jan 15 this year.
Fuziah suspected that certain quarters were still “mining while clearing existing stockpiles”.
She had received complaints from the public regarding this.
Meanwhile, Lee Tan, a Kuantan-born environmental and development technical adviser, told FMT laws governing bauxite mining and environmental pollution should be revised and improved.
This was necessary to rectify loopholes and inadequacies that resulted in the environmental disaster in the first place.
“Malaysia has to tighten its laws and be serious about protecting the environment. These are very serious issues which will end up costing the government a lot of money down the line.
“Tax-payers and the public will end up shouldering the burden and hazards from pollution issues.”
Another environmentalist, Andrew Sebastian, hailed the ministry’s decision to extend the moratorium, adding “it’s good that the Federal Government is taking a strong stance in this matter”.
He said the government had to make a bold decision what to do if the Dec 31 deadline to clear the stockpiles was not met, instead of just extending the moratorium.
Last year, rampant bauxite mining led to public outrage in Kuantan, after plantations and village land were dug up. Lorries transporting the bauxite, used to make aluminium, also spilled their load on roads causing pollution and fears of poisoning.
Bauxite is in demand due to China’s growing need to fill in a supply gap after Indonesia banned its bauxite exports.