Sand in Azumu’s eyes
KTemoc Konsiders
Perak’s sands are being mined, and shipped to Penang, to build its three artificial islands in the Penang South Reclamation Project (PSR). The houses and development of the PSR are for the emerging middle classes and foreigners. One is not against development. One is against indiscriminate development.
The developers, and a handful of people, will make a lot of money, but what of the fishermen in both Perak and Penang? Who will speak for them? How will they benefit?
So, why should Perak suffer at the expense of Penang? In neighbouring Indonesia, stretches of beaches have disappeared to build Singapore’s artificial islands. Some of our sand was also used.
More Perakians should be aware of the dangers caused by sand mining. Fishermen are not the only ones affected. Those living close to rivers and the mangrove estuary will be at risk, as are the flora and fauna.
Penang will gain, Perak will lose
Penang will gain three islands, but Perak will lose out when huge gaps are left in the river and seabeds off Perak. The Environmental Impact Assessment of the PSR did not address the effects of sand mining. The United Nations advice on sand mining was conveniently ignored. Why?
The dangers of sand mining can be likened to a ticking time bomb. Who would have thought that dredging for something as innocuous as sand could be so lucrative, but environmentally damaging?
Villagers in Perak have already complained about riverbank erosion, because the extraction of huge volumes of sand has destabilised the riverbanks.
Water quality is affected. Water pumps in water-intake treatment plants, which supply us with water are damaged because of sedimentation. Maintenance or repair costs mount up. It won’t be long before Perak has a water crisis like parts of Selangor.
Irrigation channels extract water from the rivers, but if the river and its banks are stressed by sand-mining activities, in time, farmers will complain that they cannot irrigate their padi fields
Sand mining will affect the mangrove swamps of Perak, principally in Kuala Sepetang and Kuala Kurau. The mangroves form a natural barrier, thus protecting the lowlands against storms, tidal waves, rising sea levels and tsunamis. Tanjung Piandang is a cape and is particularly susceptible to the effects of tidal movement.
