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Monday March 1,
2004
Stop issuing licences to dredge sand, ministry told BY HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH MUAR: The Land and Co-operative Development Ministry has been told to follow a Cabinet directive to stop issuing new licences for sand dredging work in coastal waters. Agriculture Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said sand dredging had a negative impact on marine life and the Cabinet had issued a directive last year for the Land and Co-operative Development Ministry to stop issuing new licences to protect the fishing industry. “Besides not issuing new licenses, we hope the ministry will also not renew expired licences. “We have to do it if we want to protect the marine ecology and the fish breeding-ground in our seas,” he said after presenting fishing licences and compensation to Muar and Batu Pahat fishermen on Saturday. Muhyiddin said sand dredging carried out by two companies in the seas off Parit Jawa had caused problems to about 40 fishermen. He said the companies had agreed to pay RM161,238 to 24 of them while the claims of the other 16 were being considered.
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