KEDAH Amanah chairman Ismail Salleh has called for a thorough investigation into suspicious activities allegedly taking place at the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik. 

He said that residents near Bukit Enggang claimed seeing individuals believed to be foreigners entering and leaving the area, raising questions about whether the mining and exploration of rare earth elements are still taking place in the area. 

“A task force should be established to uncover various issues, including the alleged theft of rare earth elements from land owned by Menteri Besar Kedah Inc (MBI Kedah), which until now has not been explained by the state government and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor,” he told a press conference in Alor Setar today.

On April 13, 40 individuals, of which 35 were foreigners, were charged at the Sessions Court with trespassing into Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in January.

In October, the media reported the Kedah government had recouped losses from rare earth mining in Sik by issuing compounds to a Chinese national found responsible for the activity.

Sanusi said on October 11, the suspect paid a compound of RM500,000 for illegal mining and another RM130,000 for trespassing into the forest reserve.

He said the state government was advised that the case should be compounded rather than taken to court as the maximum compound would go into state government coffers. 

However, Sanusi denied any involvement by MBI Kedah in any rare earth exploration or mining in the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve. 

In January, MBI Kedah signed a memorandum of understanding with Jangka Bakat Minerals Sdn Bhd and China’s Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd for the exploration, technical assistance, and mining of rare earth elements in the state. – Bernama, July 8, 2023.