Residents living in fear over sand mining works

By Zefry Dahalan - Free Malaysia Today
SEREMBAN: Do the authorities take safety into consideration before giving the green light for sand mining operations?
This is the question which arose when FMT visited a location in Temiang here after receiving a complaint from a resident.
The work, with heavy machineries, at the Temiang river is carried out just several metres from the houses and the residents fear for their lives.
According to resident Laila Malek, 52, the river bank has collapsed several times due to the sand mining operations.
"During a heavy downpour recently, part of the river bank on the opposite side collapsed due to sand mining activities.
"Now they are digging the river bank near my house, and I am worried that the same thing will happen and even cause my house to collapse,” she said.
Temiang state assemblyman Ng Chin Tsai told FMT that he had raised the issue in the state assembly in April.
He was told that a sand mining permit was issued to the contractor in March, and work is also being carried out since last year to deepen the river to overcome the problem of flooding in the area.
However, Ng said he was not aware that the sand mining operations were posing a danger to the residents there.
After visiting the site, the state assemblyman vowed to write a letter to the state government and file an official complaint on behalf of the residents.
'Don't wait for a tragedy to happen'
Meanwhile, Rembau PKR division chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin questioned the guildelines which are followed prior to issuing a permit to conduct sand mining works.
“When I visited the location, I was surprised how the authorities allowed such a risky operation,” he said, adding that the authorities should conduct regular checks instead of waiting for something tragic to happen before taking action.
“Please don't wait until the houses collapse or someone dies,” he told FMT.
Badrul also asked if an Enviromental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out before issuing the permit.
"Even if there is an EIA report, did they follow the specifications accordingly? I demand the state government to make public the status and content of the EIA report,” he said.
Despite numerous attempts, state Land and Mining Department officials could not be reached for comment.