In a report in Malaysiakini, Fudziah criticised Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob for saying that state authorities could not arrest illegal miners as they had the tendency of scooting off during raids.
“The entire state Land and Mines Office is unable to control (illegal bauxite mining) and is involved in serious corruption scandals.
“This is a clear indication that we cannot allow mining to continue even after the moratorium expires.
“The Pahang government was unable to control the mining industry before and will not be able to do so after,” she was quoted by the portal as saying.
In an interview with local daily New Straits Times published today, Adnan had said he did not have a definitive answer on how best to deal with illegal bauxite miners.
He explained that based on current laws and practices, the state government could only take action on illegal mining carried out on private land using the National Land Code 1965.
Those who carried out illegal mining on state land however always ran away when raids were conducted by the state government.
On January 6, during a media conference in Kuala Lumpur, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced that a three-month ban would be imposed on bauxite mining activities in Pahang effective January 15, after an uproar over environmental degradation and bauxite contamination of rivers and the sea around Kuantan.
Wan Junaidi said his ministry had stopped approving export permits for bauxite since last week and would not be issuing any again until the moratorium was lifted.
During the three-month period, the industry has been directed to clear bauxite stockpiles apart from upgrading and installing filtration systems and cleaning facilities.