MP requests for stop-work order for bauxite mining during monsoon in Kuntan, Malaysia

Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh wants the Pahang state government to issue a stop-work order for bauxite mining before the monsoon floods hit the state.

She claimed four hours of rain in the early hours of Sunday had caused the retention wall of a bauxite cleaning pond in Bukit Goh to burst, and the water to spill into a nearby house.

"This was just four hours of rain; try to imagine what will happen if the rain goes on for four days during the monsoon."

As such, she wants the Pahang government to issue a stop-work order to the affected mine so that the retention wall can be repaired.

The Star earlier reported that "uncontrolled mining" is rampant in the Bukit Goh area, with many Felda settlers chopping down oil palm trees to make way for mining to chase the promise of stellar earnings.

Felda chairperson Mohd Isa Samad in July said the agency has stopped all bauxite mining license applications and activities there, and discuss it further with the state government.

The state government had said it would terminate 31 mining licenses effective July 31.

Bernama reported that following a recent crackdown, only 11 operators are granted permission to extract bauxite and transport it out of the state.

Discharge from bauxite refining is typically known as red mud. It has high alkalinity, with iron oxide making up the bulk of the content.

An accidental red mud release into a Hungarian in 2010 countryside killed ten people and lifeform in the river, in what experts then termed an "ecological disaster".

Speaking at the parliament lobby today, Fuziah also wants a stop-work order on all bauxite mining in the state, legal or illegal, and for the federal government to fulfil its promise to halt bauxite exports so as to cripple the demand.

"The state and federal governments must have the political will to do something. Please stop the suffering of the Kuantan people," Fuziah said.

She previously claimed that four rivers in Kuantan were heavily contaminated with mercury, citing a Department of Environment study.

However, Pahang Menteri Besar Ahmad Yaacob urged Fuziah to be careful in her claims.

“I understand the Kuantan MP wanted to protest in Parliament on Tuesday on the issue. We as a government will not object it if it is done in the interest of the people.

“But you must not talk as you please, like she mentioned that Sungai Riau, Sungai Mabok, Sungai Penang and Sungai Pengorak in Kuantan are not safe to be used because they contain high magnesium levels,” he is quoted as saying by Astro Awani.