Adenan asked to set an independent team to probe coal mine disaster

KUCHING, Nov 25, 2014: Sarawak PKR today calls on Chief Minister Adenan Satem to immediately order for the setting up of an independent team to conduct investigation into the Selantik coal mine disaster which had taken the lives of three foreign workers and injured 30 others, including 20 who are in critical conditions.

"We have urged the state government to look into the matter barely two years ago after four Chinese national coal miners lost their lives at the same coal mine.

"It is unfortunate that the call for a thorough investigation into that fatal incident and mitigation of environmental and social impacts were ignored," he said in a statement today.

See said:"With this second fatal blast and fire accident, there is no more excuse for the state government to allow resumption of the mining activity in the Selantik coal mine, pending a full and thorough independent investigation and that all necessary health and safety standards are put in place to ensure that there will be no more recurrence of such accidents."

He said the commercial and industrial benefits including entrepreneurial revenue and gains arising from the exploitation and mining of natural resources must always be balanced with environmental and social concerns including the health and safety of the workers, whether they are locals or foreigners.

He added there is a three-folds significant increase in the production of coal from Sarawak, where 80% of the coal deposits of Malaysia are located and production of more than 90%.

He added in 2007, 1.07 million tonnes were mined and produced. It rose to 2.95 million tonnes in 2012.

"However, the royalties and rents received by the state government are minimal, in the region of RM22 million per year.

"Therefore, the government should look into the exploitation of our coal mining policies, particularly to safeguard the little coal resource and reserve that we have left, estimated at 1,724 million tonnes, of which only 16% were measured, 20% are indicated and two-thirds of them were only inferred," he suggested.

In Indonesia, the total coal reserves is estimated at 28 billion tonnes, but the country had last year made an effort to cap production and renegotiate contracts with miners in order to preserve its reserves.

China has coal reserves of more than 150 billion tonnes while India has coal reserves of more than 100 billion tonnes but these 2 countries are amongst the biggest importers of coal in the world.

"This is telling on the environment and social hazards of the coal mining industries and the indisputable values of coal in the future," he added.

He pointed out that the national five5-Fuel Policy (oil, gas, hydro power, coal and renewable energy) needs to be critically relooked especially Sarawak.

"There is an obvious present risk that Sarawak is sacrificing its future to satisfy such national needs.

"The irreparable depletion of oil and gas and the losses and damages to land caused by such hydro power dams and coal mining are certainly detrimental to the state’s future.

"We, therefore, urge the state government to make use of this opportunity to look into the coal mining industry particularly and the energy industry as a whole. Of utmost importance now is the health and safety of the mining industry," said See, who is also Batu Lintang State Assemblyman.