TAIPING: The Mentri Besar Incorporated (MBI) of Perak has instructed the selected operator to halt operations at a quarry temporarily after complaints arose regarding polluted water sources impacting Orang Asli villagers of Kampung Kelatap, Pos Perwor near Sungai Siput.
Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, the Mentri Besar of Perak, stated that the notice was provided by MBI on Jan 12 to ensure immediate restoration works.
“The restoration works in urgent need of implementation include land leveling in the area that has been opened, as well as constructing a dam to prevent water flow into the water catchment area.”
“The operator has been carrying out this work since Jan 13 up until today,” he said during a press conference after launching Taiping Town’s 150th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday (Jan 20).
Investigations revealed that pollution resulted from land clearing for a sediment pond as well as waste release from a septic tank that did not adhere to the specified Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval.
“The investigation was conducted by the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) and MBI, and from the information gathered, we acknowledge that the pollution resulted from these two factors,” he explained.
Moreover, he mentioned that the approval for the quarry mining project, which commenced in September last year, followed the endorsement from relevant technical agencies.
“We hope that all restoration work can be carried out effectively, and most importantly, the Orang Asli in the area will be able to access clean water as they did before,” he added.
On Friday (Jan 19), over 100 Orang Asli residents of Kampung Kelatap, Pos Perwor near Sungai Siput expressed their discontent over the health hazards they face due to the alleged contamination of the water source by the quarry project.
In their statement, they claimed that for more than two years, they have been using water contaminated with waste from the workers’ shared quarters at the project site. – Bernama
