Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil of Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) said the natural resources ministry had been quiet about its investigations into Sungai Pulai, two months after news broke about the golf course-cum-hotel project.

She noted that environment minister Yeo Bee Yin was “always on the ground in Pasir Gudang” and had visited Sungai Kim Kim, site of a chemical pollution scandal, but had not deemed it necessary to visit the Sungai Pulai mangrove devastation.

Sabrina also questioned why Yeo had nothing to say about the Sungai Pulai issue when pressed on this recently.

In Sungai Pulai, a foreign company has opened the first of three golf courses at a cost of nearly RM2 billion which encroaches on the Sungai Pulai mangrove reserve, listed as a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar site).

Sabrina, who is president of Peka, noted that the Sungai Kim Kim contamination had caused many people, including schoolchildren, to fall ill. She said the devastation to the Sungai Pulai ecosystem was just as bad, despite not having immediate impact.

She questioned why no action had been taken against the culprits in the Sungai Pulai case, whereas three people have already been arrested and charged for the Sungai Kim Kim pollution.

She also criticised the contradictory statements by natural resources minister Xavier Jayakumar and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad about the golf course.

Mahathir had said earlier this month that he “knows nothing” about the project, whereas Xavier had said just last month that Mahathir was, in fact, “well aware” of the situation.

Calling for a more united front by the government on issues like this, Sabrina urged Mahathir to “make it worth his time” to speak out on these issues “instead of waiting for disaster to strike”.

She questioned whether work on the golf course might have begun before an environmental impact assessment was approved. Checks on the project website show that construction began in July 2017, while it is understood that the EIA report was only approved in October that year.

She hoped that Putrajaya would swiftly act and prevent the project owner from building two more golf courses in the vicinity.

The Sungai Pulai mangrove reserve covers 9,216 hectares and helps to protect the shoreline and prevent floods, while bringing socioeconomic balance to the nearby fishing communities.

The company behind the controversial project has repeatedly avoided issuing a public comment in response to FMT’s numerous reports on the matter.