Natives in interior northern Sarawak will organise mass-protests and set up blockades to stop blasting and drilling for minerals on ancestral land.
Social activist Willie Kajan from the Berawan-Tring minority ethnic group, today said there are rumours the state authorities had uncovered large deposits of minerals in the Baram district.
He told The Vibes the natives are concerned that exploration for these minerals is being arranged by the state authorities.
This was after the recent announcement by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan that an estimated RM 1.25 trillion worth of gold, rare earth, bauxite and other precious metals had been discovered in 32 percent of land surveyed by the State Geological Department so far.
"We in Baram are already discussing this issue with urgency as it looks like blasting and drilling will begin soon.
"We will protest and will set up blockades. The conventional method of exploration for minerals involved using explosives to blast deep holes into the ground or hillslopes to allow test drillings.
"We will never allow such destructive activities on our ancestral land," he said.
National environment cum social rights body Sahabat Alam Malaysia had on June 20 also warned that full-scale mining for RM 1.25 trillion worth of precious metals and minerals may spell doom for Sarawak's ecosystem as such activities may ravage the environment beyond repair.
SAM ground coordinator for Sarawak, Jok Jau Evong, said large-scale mining activities for commercial profits are almost always destructive to the ecosystem regardless of how advanced the expertise to be used.
He had said that Sarawak was already experiencing serious environmental damages as can be seen by the increasing frequency of flash floods, river pollution, rise in temperature, river basins siltation and land erosion plus the constant clearing of big areas of jungles for logging and plantations.
"Only last month, the state announced plans to turn 10 river basins into sites for cascading dams.
"This is really worrying news as far as the environment and welfare of the forest natives are concerned," he said.
Sarawak Minister of Public Utilities and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi had announced on April 15 that the state government has drawn up plans to develop as many as 10 river basins statewide into sources of hydroelectric power. – June 25, 2024.
