KUANTAN: The Pahang government will step up enforcement against activities involving mineral resources to ensure that all such operations comply with the law.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government would not compromise with any party that disregards the stipulated licence, permit and approval requirements.
"Enforcement will continue to be strengthened from time to time, including through the use of monitoring and intelligence technology, to ensure that the state’s mineral resources are managed in an orderly and responsible manner and in accordance with the law,” he said in a statement.
On a related matter, he stressed that the degazettement of permanent forest reserves in the state must not be carried out arbitrarily, but adhere to strict conditions and prescribed procedures.
"Pahang views land and forests as a state matter, so it is appropriate for the state government to manage them. Besides, we have certain conditions (for degazettement)," he said when asked to comment on the state government's decision not to conduct a public inquiry into the process.
Pahang was previously reported to be the fourth state not to adopt two key safeguards under the National Forestry Act (Amendment) 2022, namely the requirement to conduct a public inquiry and provide replacement land before an area is removed as a permanent forest reserve. – Bernama
