Sabah PKR leader Sazalye Donol Abdullah has called for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to step in and address the apparent conflict over state and federal laws in the controversial gold mining operations in Tawau. According to Sazalye, the Prime Minister’s intervention is necessary as the mining operations are in conflict with federal laws, which have ultimate authority over mineral mining.
He pointed out that the continuation of gold mining operations at Bukit Mantri has raised legal questions, as the state government appears to have overridden federal powers to allow the operations to continue. Despite the federal Mineral and Geo-Science Ministry issuing a stop order on the operations last November, the mining continued with the government’s approval through the Sabah Mining Ordinance 1960.
Sazalye emphasized that since mining operations fall under the Federal List, federal authorities have the ultimate authority over them. Assistant Minister to Chief Minister Datuk Abdin Madingkir had recently stated that the mining operations were legal, as the state mining ordinance allows for the director of the Lands and Survey Department Datuk Bernard Liew to be the Chief Inspector of Mining.
The issue becomes even more concerning as the country lease land title issued in 2014 required compliance with the mining scheme issued by the federal Mineral and Go-Science Ministry, as well as agreement on environmental conditions between the project proponent and the Sabah Director of Environmental Protection Department.
Sazalye also called for a close examination by environmental agencies and graft investigators into the ongoing operations, as there seems to be no mining scheme presented to the federal ministry and uncertainty about whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was done in accordance with requirements.
Regarding the release of four people from the mining company and the return of 110kgs of gold by Customs officers, Sazalye questioned whether the company can still engage in gold trading without federal approval for gold mining. He suggested that the gold should be seized and returned to the state government.
State Customs had previously stated that the company officials and the gold were returned as they did not contravene or breach any Customs Act or subsidiary laws under the same act. The mining issue has remained a controversy, with Parti Warisan’s Merotai assemblyman Sarifuddin Hata raising the stop work order at last year’s state Assembly sitting, while the state maintains that the gold mining operations are legal.
