State opposition leader Jahara Hamid, from BN, claimed seabed mining for sand was “still going on” and offered to show the press the places where such work was taking place.
She said the Penang government will never admit that this kind of mining was still taking place illegally.
“During BN’s rule as state government, we carefully mapped out areas where seabed mining was taking place and had taken place.
“And we have found out there are no more suitable places to do so,” she told reporters in her office at the state assembly today.
Jahara said she will not reveal more about the matter, promising to expose more during a media trip to a site.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said there was no such thing going on in Penang as suggested by Jahara.
He said Jahara’s claim that sand mining was going on was merely parroting what he had said when he was an assemblyman in 2004.
Phee explained that, as the former state opposition leader in 2004 and 2007, he had raised the matter at the state assembly back then.
“There was illegal sand mining at Jahara’s constituency in Bagan Ajam. And she was the state exco at that time. But she never responded to our claims back then.
“Let me be clear by saying the Penang government will never allow such mining to take place.
“If Jahara thinks there is such work going on, please give us evidence and show us where.”
According to Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, seabed mining is mostly used to replenish eroded beaches, extracting submerged minerals and resources from the sea floor.
It is done by dredging, typically 20 metres under the sea, for sand.
The mining affects the marine biology and also causes massive erosion under the sea, the community-based action group said.