Explanation Needs To Be Given To Bukit Koman Residents

Raub,Pahang was once the largest gold-mine site in the country.

The gold-mine site in Raub is situated at a new village known as Bukit Koman. During the 1900's era, Bukit Koman experienced an era of remarkable progress due to the gold-mine development in the area. At the end of the gold mine era during the 1960's, Bukit Koman faced obstacles in its local development. This place is a new village which exudes customs and traditions, and native culture, and emphasized a common social communication of local residents since the past decade.

In the year 2007, an international invester and, once again resumed gold mining activities without giving notice and informing the local residents. The problem now is not mining but the use of toxic materials especially cyanide in the mining process.

The relevant authorities did not take the necessary precautions to explain to the residents about the ill effects of cyanide which is harmful to human beings and the natural environment. The local residents discovered the problem of cyanide by searching for and collecting information on their own effort.

At the same time time, the local residents became aware that this problem could become a serious threat, which may poison the whole village. After which they formed a committee which protested against the use of cyanide in local mining and searched for various solutions and used proper channels to voice their grievances which needed help from outside.

The local residents are not against development as such, and progress brought about by mining but, several questions that follow frighten them.

1. Every kind of industry should be situated at least more than 5 km away from residential areas. However, the site of Bukit Koman gold mining is situated about one main road away from the residences of local people and not 10 km from their homes. How could certification be issued when the gold mining location does not have a clear buffer zone from the residential quarters, shops and schools. The mining location uses 1.5 tons of toxic chemical materials every day.

2. There are clear examples concerning incidents of toxic material leakage from mining locations in foreign countries. In Indonesia , a case of mercury leakage happened in Buyat, which caused 1,000 local residents who lived in 6 different villages to suffer the dangerous effects of poison caused by toxic materials. The Indonesian Government in the end ordered all local residents to evacuate from the affected areas. In the USA, an incident of cyanide leakage also accurred in Colorado. This particular incident caused the death of all marine creatures within a radius of 27 km. A case of cyanide leakage and environmental pollution could also occur in USA, which is a developed nation; what more in Malaysia, a country that is not yet designated as a developed nation, where there are doubts whether it can be assured that cyanide will be used in a safe manner?

3.The local residents had contacted the relevant authorities and, the latter replied that the use of cyanide in mining is safe if the management, production and manufacturing process is well run and supervised. But the relevant authority cannot guarantee the safety of the residents by giving a reply like that. The safety policy and monitoring systems that are applied has never been set out by the relevant authorities. If the safety of the residents is guaranteed, why don’t the authorities allow the local residents to visit the gold mine location to further understand the safety precautions it employs so as have an assurance of their safety.

For the last 2 years, the authorities still have neither supplied information nor given any explanation regarding questions forwarded by the concerned residents of Bukit Koman.

Submissions of memorandums, face to face discussions, holding rallies and open vocal opposition at public places, including whatever ways that are used by the local residents have all been exhausted.

Last year,the local residents decided to challenge the approval of the authority regarding the use of cyanide in gold mining in Bukit Koman and, filed an application for leave for judicial review of the EIA (Enviromental Impact Assessment) that was approved in 1997. However, the High Court did not allow the application after conducting a hearing which took more than one year. The reason given by the High Court was that the application made by the local residents of Bukit Koman was late because the Department of Environment (DOE) had approved the EIA in 1997. The court did not accept the arguments of the residents that they were unaware of the approval of the EIA until only recently, and that they could not file the application earlier as they required expert reports on the contents of the EIA. The High Court’s rejection of the residents’ application has crashed their hopes. However, they refuse to give up and have filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The residents are now faced with many obstacles that concern environmental pollution which will seriously affect their lives and the health of their immediate families.

This case is seen and is connected to not only an issue that involves the daily livelihood of local residents but also involves the issue of the natural environment and basic human rights of each individual. Every strata of society cannot brush aside this case and , most important of all, the government should take proper steps to enrich and protect the livelihood of its citizens.

The final hope of the local residents is receiving help from the government. As a government that places the interest of its citizens first, it must carry out its responsibility to ensure the well-being of the people, besides emphasizing progress and national economic development and, safe-guarding the priorities and safety of its citizens.

Under the "people first" policy which was brought forward by the new Prime Minister, it is hoped that the government will treatthe utmost seriousness and take appropriate actions at the same time to resolve this issue, as explanations to the 3 questions brought forward by the local citizens of Bukit Koman.

A safe place to live in, a lasting peace and good health for a family and the next generation after it, are all that are hoped for and yearned by each citizen.