00:00First of all, on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Natural Resources and Environment,
00:07we would like to confirm that there is no approval given to the IAEA report
00:14for the bauxite mining project at Goh Hill, Kuantan, Pahang.
00:19Previously, the IAEA report was rejected for this project
00:24and after that, IAEA has just received the IAEA report
00:31once again for the proposal of the project at Goh Hill, Kuantan,
00:35entitled Proposed Bauxite Mining Operation in Goh Hill
00:40with an area of 2,424.73 hectares in Mukim, Kuala Kuantan, District of Kuantan, Pahang
00:50on 24th September, 2024.
00:53The initiator of this project is BG Mining, Sindan Berhad.
00:58And as usual, the process will be followed,
01:02which will be assessed and discussed in detail
01:06in the Technical IAEA or EIA-TRC meeting
01:11together with other government agencies,
01:16including technical agencies,
01:18whether they are in the government or state level,
01:21individuals appointed, and non-governmental bodies or NGOs.
01:26So, the EIA-TRC meeting will consider all the issues and concerns
01:32from all parties involved before a decision is made
01:35on the IAEA report received.
01:38Mr. Bang Karyan.
01:40Mr. President,
01:43is the government willing to impose
01:47all mining industries,
01:50such as sand mining, bauxite mining, etc.?
01:53Because I see that we are very saddened by the disaster
01:57that happened in Goh Hill,
02:00a very critical disaster.
02:02Meanwhile, the government has appointed an expert
02:06with a cost of Rp486 million for 15 years
02:10to monitor our environment,
02:12which means Rp60 million per year or Rp5 million per month.
02:17The cost of the government is Rp167,000 per day
02:21to monitor the air, water, and so on.
02:26My question is,
02:27how far has the IAEA effected in monitoring,
02:34especially in real-time,
02:36and to provide early notice to our people
02:40about the effects of environmental pollution that they are facing?
02:45Thank you, Mr. President.
02:47First of all, regarding the IAEA process,
02:51we do have a suggestion to further improve
02:56the control of the IAEA
02:58and also the transparency of the process
03:00to be more comprehensive
03:02in line with the needs and requests of the people today.
03:06Regarding the issue of EQMP,
03:10Environmental Quality Monitoring Programme,
03:14which was initiated by the honoured one,
03:17the purpose is to monitor the status of air quality,
03:21river water, and also marine water,
03:23as the honoured one is well aware,
03:25by absorbing ambient quality data
03:29that is indicative of the health and well-being of the people.
03:36It has helped us to provide annual environmental quality report.
03:42However, we are also aware that
03:45this issue has been raised in the Parliamentary Elections.
03:49I remember the former minister,
03:52the honoured one, Puchong,
03:54raised several questions
03:56to ensure the effectiveness of this programme.
04:00We feel that the EQMP aspect
04:05is one of the aspects of data that is automatically absorbed.
04:09We feel that there is no major problem with that.
04:11However, in terms of manual data absorption,
04:14there may be some questions.
04:16For example, is it necessary to place the data
04:20under the power of the EQMP,
04:22which is contracted to the concession company,
04:25or can it be done by the government?
04:28So, there are implications
04:30if it is done by the government,
04:32in terms of ability, responsibility, and so on.
04:34So, we will look at this wholeheartedly
04:38so that the purpose is to ensure
04:43that the quality of the data we receive is more effective
04:47and we can, as a powerhouse,
04:50provide early warnings to local communities
04:56if there is a pollution crisis.
05:00For example, the Kim Kim River, and so on.
05:03And also, the pollution of the bauxite mine
05:06that once attracted widespread attention in Pahang.
05:11Thank you, Mr. Minister.
05:12I heard your answer just now.
05:14So, my question is,
05:15how far has the study been carried out
05:17to re-evaluate the report
05:20on the effects on the environment,
05:22i.e. EIA,
05:24so that we can ensure that the report is effective
05:27in resolving the issue of infrastructure construction
05:29that has affected the environment?
05:32Yes, thank you, Hon. Bentong.
05:34As mentioned earlier,
05:36we are always trying to improve
05:39the evaluation of the effects on the environment
05:45or the surrounding environment,
05:47i.e. EIA, in our country.
05:49And this involves all project proposals
05:51under the Surrounding Environment Quality Government,
05:54the activity that establishes
05:56the evaluation of the effects on the surrounding environment 2015.
05:59And this includes activities
06:01on infrastructure construction, and so on.
06:04Among the steps that we have taken
06:07to ensure that the EIA report is effective
06:11in the evaluation of the EIA report
06:14is to provide specific guidance
06:16on the EIA preparation
06:18for each activity that it establishes,
06:20to prepare the format and content of the EIA report,
06:23to expand the range of EIA evaluation panel members
06:27in the EIA TRC,
06:29including the state agency,
06:31NGOs, and expert panels,
06:33to provide a public exhibition platform
06:35and public consultation for the EIA report digitally.
06:38And for the implementation level,
06:42we also establish a third-party audit,
06:45or third-party audit,
06:47self-regulation.
06:49For information,
06:51we are also at the government level,
06:55we are looking at how we want to improve
06:58so that this EIA can be more effective.
07:03The five priorities of our improvement
07:06are to strengthen the need for EIA-related legislation
07:10and to update the process in the evaluation of the EIA report,
07:13to strengthen the EIA procedure in our country,
07:16to digitalize the EIA,
07:18to strengthen the public affairs
07:20and to strengthen the EIA authority.
07:23So these things we will inform
07:25and we will update the people
07:29about how we will improve the EIA
07:32so that it is truly effective
07:34in maintaining public health.
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