Fed-up villagers to act against cyanide use

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | Aug 8, 07 10:34am

Tired of waiting for action, residents of Bukit Koman new village in Raub will sue the Pahang government if it renews a gold mining licence that allows the use of cyanide by the concessionaire.

Their anti-cyanide committee has been appealing to Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob and MCA leaders to take up their concerns and allay their anxiety, with no results to date.

Chairperson Wong Kin Hoong told malaysiakini that Adnan, at a meeting in March, had promised to bring in experts “soon” to assess whether cyanide use at the gold mine nearby could be harmful to human health.

The state government has issued a mining licence to Peninsular Gold which also allows the use of cyanide, but this is due to expire on Aug 21.

“If the state government renews the permit, the committee will definitely take the matter to court to seek justice,” Wong said.

“The Broga anti-incinerator case and others have shown us that those affected can obtain victory through the courts.”

The committee was formed last year to protest the use of cyanide in extracting gold from an old mining site beside the village.

It is estimated that about 2,000 villagers live in the affected area.

Construction of the RM60 million mine is expected to be completed within a year. The main processing plant will use carbon-in-leach technology to extract gold from tailings (remnants of mined deposits). The main chemical used in this process is cyanide.

MCA blames villagers

When contacted, MCA Tras assemblyperson Chan Choon Fah said party representatives have brought up the matter in the state assembly and are waiting for the menteri besar to make a final decision.

Chan admitted that the delay is due to the appointment of an expert and blamed the villagers for not proposing an independent candidate to conduct the evaluation.

“If state government appoints the expert, the villagers will think the (report) is biased and will not accept it. However, they haven’t found a suitable person either.”

Wong, however, denied this, claiming that the state government has not contacted the committee over the last five months.

“Whether we agree with the government’s appointment or not, they should at least contact us to discuss the choice,” he said.

“His (Chan) statement is illogical. As a state assemblyperson, he should approach us first, but until now, no discussion has been initiated by either MCA or the menteri besar,” he said.

Under the circumstances, Wong felt it best to let the federal government, state environment department and an independent chemistry expert to jointly conduct the environmental impact assessment, in the interests of neutrality.

When contacted yesterday, Adnan said he would issue a response by this afternoon after getting an update on the situation. However, in a SMS message received today, he refused to comment on the issue.

Signatures collected

In an earlier development, Pahang state exco Hoh Khai Mun had led Wong and other villagers on a study tour to another operating gold mine in Penjom last month, to get first-hand information on mining operations involving cyanide use.

The visit, which was intended to placate the villagers, backfired instead and only strengthened their determination to continue protesting the use of cyanide.

According to Wong, there were no signs of life in the vicinity of that gold mine (photo).

Wong also said the committee has collected more than 10,000 signatures to back their protest, including those of 10 committees from Chinese-based new villages nearby.

Over the past few months, the committee has written to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and MCA president Ong Ka Ting, seeking a meeting to submit the signatures and a memorandum.

There has been no reply to date.