Additional officers to curb illegal gold mining in Kelantan
Posted on July 19, 2012, Thursday
KOTA BAHARU: The Kelantan state government will add additional enforcement officers to curb illegal gold mining activities in the state, said Kelantan State Secretary Datuk Zainuddin Ibrahim.
He said although the state government was currently facing financial difficulties, they had complete plans regarding the addition of enforcement officers.
“We can gather squads from districts for enforcement duties. This is in our plan, but we cannot predict when a robber is going to strike. We have taken action against those we have identified,” he told reporters after the fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign in conjunction with the 55th Independence Day celebrations at the Sutlan Mahmud IV Stadium here, Tuesday night.
Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat launched the campaign while International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed was also present as the Federal government’s representative.
There have been news reports lately on dozens of illegal gold mining activities which have been found to be operating in several districts in Kelantan, among them in Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai, Jeli and Gua Musang.
Illegal mining activities have been going on for several years now, causing the Kelantan state government to lose millions of Ringgit.
Zainuddin said stern action will also be taken against enforcement officers who leaked information to illegal miners before a raid.
“If we receive proof that anyone (officer) is involved, we will take action,” he said. — Bernama
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