Kota Kinabalu: Lands and Surveys Director cum Chief Inspector of Mines, Datuk Bernard Liew, on Tuesday reiterated that the mining operations in Bukit Mantri, Balung is legal.
“There is no stop work order issued in accordance with the Sabah Mining Ordinance 1960,” he said in a statement.
His response was to a claim made by Kelana Benza from the Pusat Komuniti Kampung Balung Kokos that the mining operations were illegal.
Bernard said further checks on the blockage of road access to the mining area found that the said access was Government Road Reserves and access through Forest Reserves was granted with Occupation Permit (OP) by the Forestry Department.
“The group should not take such unlawful action to block Government Road Reserves as they are committing an offence under Section 171 of Land Ordinance Cap. 68 and any person who contravenes this section and upon conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding RM100,000, or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both,” he said.
“We hope the community of Kg Balung do not block the access so as not to hinder the mining operations,” he added.
The group was recently quoted as saying that they would not allow oil tankers access their village road in protest against the old mining activities at Bukit Mantri.
They said the decision was in response to authorities’ failure to put an end to the illegal mining operations in the area.
