The Star, Malaysia : Musa : 'No coal mining in Maliau Basin'

Friday, July 04, 2003

Musa : 'No coal mining in Maliau Basin'

BY RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik is pushing for the prospecting of coal under Sabah’s renowned pristine tropical forest of Maliau Basin known as the Lost World in Borneo.

However, Sabah is firm that no mining activities should take place in first class forest reserves and protected areas such as the Maliau Basin in the south central part of the state.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman reaffirmed this stand of the state government immediately after Dr Lim indicated interest in the large coal deposits in the Maliau Basin yesterday at the national seminar on the minerals industry.

“There is no reason for the Sabah government to prevent the prospecting of coal in the Maliau Basin,” said Dr Lim.

“We can have monkeys on top and (mine) the coal underground,” he said in explaining he had seen such underground mining operations being carried out at a national park in Canada.

When pointed out that a prospecting licence had been issued for Maliau Basin 15 years ago which led to a discovery of an estimated 200 million tons of coal, Dr Lim said: “We need detailed reports.”

Noting that Sabah might be sensitive to criticisms from all quarters if allowed Maliau to be mined, Dr Lim said the state government should not be “afraid” to tap its natural wealth.

Environmentally sensitive Maliau Basin conservation area of about 588sq kms – more than twice the size of Penang island – includes a 20ha lake Linumunsut and the 1,600m Lutong peak was designated a Cultural Heritage site in 1999.

Described as one of the few remaining untouched natural habitats in the world, Maliau Basin is also home to more than 70 mammal species including the protected Sumatran rhino, the Asian elephant, clouded leopard and the proboscis monkey and over 2,000 bird and plant species.

Reaffirming that the state was staying put with its policy of not exploiting protected areas, Musa said the Sabah government would however consider mining in other areas.

To date, the state had issued four prospecting licences for areas that were not within protected forest reserves or environmentally sensitive areas, Musa said.

While the state government was open to the mining industry, it would not allow environmentally sensitive areas to be destroyed, he said.

Musa said the state had learnt from its experiences of the Mamut gold and copper mine in Ranau at the foothills of the Mount Kinabalu World Heritage Site.