In an interview with the New Straits Times, Wan Juanidi said the port – operated by the Kuantan Port Consortium – must resemble a port instead of a “kiln for producing red bricks”.

“I know it is not easy to clean the sludge from bauxite, but they have to do it.

“Repaint it, if they must. I don’t care,” he said, adding that port authorities must then carry out other mitigation measures such as washing bays and having operational purification systems to purify the flushed water before it enters the river.

He said the time had come for mitigation to begin.

“We know this as we have tested the waters and have seen the whole thing, so please don’t be in denial as you are part of the problem,” he was quoted by the NST as saying.

Wan Junaidi reiterated that the port authorities must clear the stockpiles at the port in seven days from the start of the moratorium on January 15; failing which, the period could be extended and this would include the one-month deadline for all stockpiles to be moved to a centralised stockpile so the movement of bauxite could be better regulated.

On Wednesday, Putrajaya announced a moratorium on bauxite mining activities in the state following months of outrage by politicians, locals and environmental groups over the impact of the uncontrolled activities there.