KUALA LUMPUR: The simmering bauxite issue in Pahang may see closure soon, after the fourth and possibly last meeting between Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.
Wan Junaidi told the New Straits Times yesterday that the meeting would be his fourth with Adnan to conclude a final and resolute solution to the issue.
“I hope this will be the last time we meet to discuss bauxite mining. We will discuss the measures the ministry will take for a comprehensive and wholesome solution to the bauxite issue, not just the issue of the sea turning red,” he said, without disclosing the date.
“There was never a need to meet anyone four times to settle an issue before this,” he said.
Comments from Adnan were not immediately available.
NST’s Special Probes Team was the first to uncover the unregulated mining of bauxite in the state in August, which then was said to be potentially hazardous, as deadly radioactive material could be released into the environment, contaminating the air and water sources.
On Tuesday, heavy showers near Balok in Kuantan turned its sea red.
Heavy rain for more than 24 hours since Sunday was believed to have washed the bauxite residue from the stockpile near Kuantan Port into the nearby river, which flows into the sea.
Wan Junaidi said unless the cabinet meeting next week instructed him to take urgent steps, he would wait until the meeting with Adnan before adopting the solution.
“The whole issue is a matter of state and federal authority. Issues of licensing and extraction of minerals are under the purview of the state government.
“When it involves pollution, like it has now, it forces the Federal Government to intervene and discuss with the state government,” he said.
He added that since the occurrence of the red sea phenomenon on Tuesday, he had ordered the Department of Environment to take samples of the water on alternate days, during and after floods, if any.
On Thursday, however, he said the result of the sample analysis would be known after two or three weeks.
“After that, we will take action based on the sampling results; that is all we can do. There was immediate action following this problem, that is, pertaining to the drainage system. But now when there is rainfall, the bauxite is exposed, and runs into the rivers and sea.”
The activities at Kuantan Port were out of the ministry’s jurisdiction, he said.
“Ports are under the purview of the state government and the Transport Ministry, while drainage and irrigation are under the state government and local authorities. Many parties are involved in this.”