Kedah Amanah requests an investigation into any irregularities in the Bukit Enggang forest reserve

Datuk Ismail Salleh, the chairman of Kedah Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), has demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the reportedly suspicious activities occurring within the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik.

Residents close to Bukit Enggang, he claimed, reported seeing people they assumed to be foreigners come and exit the region, raising concerns about whether rare earth element (REE) mining and exploration continued there.

“Therefore, a taskforce should be established to uncover various issues, including the alleged theft of REE in the land owned by Mentri Besar Kedah Incorporated (MBI Kedah), which up until now has not been explained by the state government and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor,” he said during a press conference held here today.

A total of 40 people, including 35 foreigners, were accused of trespassing into the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik in January at the Sessions Court in this city on April 13.

The media claimed in October of last year that the Kedah government had issued compounds to a Chinese individual believed to be responsible for the illicit mining of rare earth elements in Sik in order to make up losses.

Sanusi claims that on October 11, the individual made two payments totaling RM130,000 for trespassing in the Bukit Enggang forest reserve and RM500,000 for unlawful mining.

He said that the state government had been urged to compound the matter rather than file a lawsuit since the largest compound would benefit the state’s finances.

Muhammad Sanusi, however, denied that MBI Kedah had any participation in any REE exploration or mining operations in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve.

A memorandum of agreement on the exploration, technical support, and mining of REE in the state was signed by MBI Kedah, Jangka Bakat Minerals Sdn Bhd, and China’s Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd in January of last year.