KUALA LUMPUR: EXASPERATED, angry and helpless Kuantan folk badly affected by poorly regulated bauxite mining activities in the district have taken to social media, hoping that their desperate cries for help are heard.
It is on this platform that they joined forces to register their displeasure and upload evidence of how they are suffering from the choking red dust.
Many also expressed hope that the Pahang government would react to the New Straits Times’ expose on the dangers of unsustainable bauxite-mining, with tangible action.
This newspaper ran a series of articles in the past two months on the state’s poorly regulated mining activities as well as results from its own laboratory findings, as well as those carried out by government agencies which revealed that those affected were being exposed to hazardous compounds from bauxite.
Among others, the lab analysis suggested the presence of heavy metals, arsenic, mercury and radiation, which were above permissible levels.
On Facebook pages, “Kuantan”, “Gerakan Hentikan Pencemaran Bauksit (Geram)” and “Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka)”, residents of several villages and housing areas were considering legal action against those who allowed the problem to persist.
Teacher Salawati Abu Bakar uploaded a photo of the curtain in her classroom that had served to screen floating red dust.
“This is my classroom curtain which we hung about two months ago (it was originally cream but the side facing the outside is now red). Imagine what we are breathing and imagine if there were no curtains.
“My students and I have been constantly coughing since we took down the curtains,” she said.
Facebook user Nik Rahiman said not only had he been forced to wash his car daily, but maintaining it had become a costly affair.
“I have to wash my car daily, get the filters changed frequently, there is extra wear and tear of tyres and fuel consumption is increasing as I am forced to take alternative routes.
“But the most worrying thing is if I should take extra insurance health coverage,” he said.
A number of accidents involving lorries transporting bauxite ore had also raised concern among road users in Kuantan.
One Facebook user lashed out at irresponsible bauxite transporters after her husband sustained injuries when he was hit by a lorry, which did not even bother to stop.
“He was on his motorcycle when the lorry switched lane without signalling and he couldn’t avoid it.
“This is sad. There is no point in us to debating the issue. Human life should never have been put at stake,” she said.
Mieyza Danish, who also had a close shave with death, said some of the transporters were hoping to make as many trips as they could without regard for public safety.
An online petition has been launched by a group called “Kuantan Concerned Citizens” that is demanding for bauxite mining activities to be halted until proper guidelines on sustainable bauxite mining is established.
The online petition, titled “Petisyen rakyat Kuantan bantah salah-kendali bauksit” has received nearly 1,000 signatures.
On Tuesday, those concerned over the aggressive mining in Kuantan gasped at the district’s changed landscape after Facebook user LJ Lim uploaded a video and side-by-side comparison of areas now dug up for bauxite and what they looked like before they were mined.
The areas included Kotasas, Bukit Goh, Beserah, Sungai Karang and along Jalan Kuantan-Sunagi Lembing