Cancel Eia For Rare Earth Mines Size Of 924 Football Fields

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A group of Orang Asli villagers from Pos Lanai, Pahang, wants the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for three rare earth mines to be cancelled
Citing a letter they received from the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), the group said permission has been given to carry out an EIA for three mines spanning 660ha
The area of 660ha is roughly the equivalent of 924 football fields. The EIA covers Orang Asli villages around the Jelai forest, but it is unclear how much of the total proposed mining area is forested
The Pos Lanai Orang Asli Land and Territories Action Committee had submitted a letter to Jakoa on Monday, protesting the plan to mine rare earth metal lanthanide in the area
It claimed the plan will encroach on Orang Asli ancestral land, destroy the environment and jeopardise the livelihood of hundreds of families
Widely used for industrial and scientific purposes, lanthanide is the same element processed by Australian rare earth company Lynas Corporation in Malaysia

Juli EdoOn Tuesday, Jakoa director-general Juli Edo replied that approval for the mines can only come from the Pahang state government
However, the department did grant an approval for the company conducting the EIA to enter Orang Asli villages around the Jelai forest
Committee chairperson Jeffry Hassan in a statement yesterday said the EIA should be cancelled
"The Orang Asli community is not well versed with the implications of the study or their legal rights." Jeffrey said when there were plans to erect a dam near Pos Lanai, many Orang Asli villagers said they had no rights over ancestral land when queried during an EIA for that project
He added that some tok batin (village chiefs) also did not have the villagers interest at heart, with many siding with the Telom Dam project despite protests from villagers
The Telom Dam was ultimately scrapped by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2019. - Mkini

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