PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is urging the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and police to investigate the Kedah Land and Mines Office for an alleged cover-up related to a theft case involving rare earth elements (REE) in Bukit Enggang.
Saifuddin claims that the state agency has failed to properly investigate the theft incident, which is against the provisions stated under Chapter 11 of the Kedah Mineral Enactment 2004.
“This scandalous situation clearly shows that state government agencies, such as the Land and Mines Office, have neglected their duty to investigate the incident,” he said during a press conference after accompanying Barisan Nasional Pedu candidate Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid on a walkabout programme in Pekan Naka on Sunday (Aug 6).
Saifuddin highlighted that, according to the Kedah Minerals Enactment, Chapter 11, Regulation 168, 169, and 170, it is the responsibility of the Land and Mines Office to initiate an investigation.
However, he accused the Land and Mines Office of not carrying out its duty to open an investigation into the matter.
During the same press conference, Saifuddin also alleged that caretaker mentri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had issued a letter allowing a company to enter the Bukit Enggang forest reserve on May 15.
He questioned why Muhammad Sanusi would issue a letter to a company that had previously been fined for illegal mining of rare earth elements (REE) in January.
“On May 15 of this year, Muhammad Sanusi issued the letter to allow the company to enter the forest reserve for the purpose of developing a 500ha forest plantation,” Saifuddin said.
He noted that Ho Chung Meng, the owner of the company, had been arrested by authorities in January and found guilty, resulting in a fine of RM130,000.
In April, Ho was one of forty people charged at the Sessions Court in Baling for trespassing into Compartment 12 of the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserves in January.
Saifuddin found it peculiar that only a month after the arrest, Muhammad Sanusi would issue another letter granting permission for Ho’s company to enter the same area in Bukit Enggang.
“If Ho was involved in the theft in January, I want to ask Muhammad Sanusi why he issued the letter on May 15?” Saifuddin questioned.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
