“It sounds odd…but that’s really the case,” the New Straits Times reported him as saying in an exclusive interview.

Adnan explained that action could be taken against culprits if the activity was conducted on private land under the National Land Code but the law still remained vague when it came to state land.

Adnan said that improving current laws overseeing bauxite mining might be the solution to the problem.

“Meaning to say we cannot only seize the machines, but we must try as hard as we can to arrest and catch the culprits, probably with the help of the police and other agencies.

“We have not been able to arrest a single illegal miner despite the many illegal mines,” he said.

However, Adnan said that the Federal Government had the capacity to tackle the issue better as proven in how they resolved illegal farming in Cameron Highlands.

“Now we don’t see farmers in Cameron Highlands encroaching on land anymore because the National Security Council is still there,” he said, adding that while the state could handle small-time farmers who encroached on the land to feed their children, they could not manage the “big players”.

He did, however, express his confidence that illegal bauxite mining would be quashed for good once the Federal government stepped in and equipped the state with the necessary manpower and tools it needed to do it.