Meenakshi claimed that mining and quarrying operations within PRFs would negatively impact Malaysia’s achievement of sustainable forest management.
In order to prevent the Kedah government from approving the mining of non-radioactive rare earth element (NR-REE) mineral resources in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in the district of Sik, Kedah, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) has urged the Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change Ministry to take the necessary precautions.
The federal government can advise the state government that all policies, decisions, and commitments related to forests made at the federal level are applied at the state level, according to SAM president Meenakshi Raman, even though Article 74(2) of the Federal Constitution read together with List II in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution provides that forests are under the jurisdiction of the state government.
She claimed that SAM was concerned about the ministry’s statement, which was released on March 22 and claimed that the Kedah government had done nothing wrong and was entitled to approve the exploration of NR-REE mineral resources in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve.
The decision made at the Special Task Force Meeting to Study the Effects of Lanthanum Production in Permanent Reserved Forests on Forest Stands No. 1/2020 on September 2 and 3, 2020 confirmed that REE mineral resources were not included in the interpretation of forest products, she continued, citing Section 2 of the National Forestry Act (Adoption) Enactment 1985 and the same section of the National Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313).
“Therefore, it is clear that if the state government intends to approve REE mineral resource mining activities at the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve, it will be an offence, in addition to not being in line with the minister’s statement on March 22 regarding one of Malaysia’s commitments to managing forests sustainably, which is not to issue ‘Operational Mining Scheme’ (OMS) for the purpose of mining activities in permanent reserved forests (PRFs), protected areas, and environmentally sensitive areas.
“SAM also reiterates that the state must heed the National Land Council (NLC) decision made during the 70th NLC Meeting in 2014 for all state governments to take the initiative to control or, to the extent possible, avoid the approval of mining and quarrying activities in PRFs,” she said in a statement today.
Meenakshi claimed that mining and quarrying operations within PRFs would negatively impact Malaysia’s achievement of sustainable forest management, which is the cornerstone of our national forest management.
SAM hopes that the state government will be advised by the minister and the ministry not to permit the mining of NR-REE mineral resources at the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve.
Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the minister of natural resources, the environment, and climate change, stated last month that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports had been published for REE mining activities in Kedah.
He claimed that no EIA report on the activities had been submitted to the Department of Environment by the Kedah government (DoE). Dr. Mohammed Taufiq Johari (PH: Sungai Petani) had asked the minister if the Kedah government had applied for an EIA for REE activities in the state. Nik Nazmi responded by making this statement.
This resulted from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding REE mining that was signed by Menteri Besar Kedah Inc. (MBI Kedah), Jangka Bakat Minerals Sdn Bhd, and Xiamen Tungsten Co. Ltd.
Berita Harian had previously reported in February that illegal REE mining had been discovered at the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik, Kedah.