The Johor government in Malaysia said it has not received any bauxite mining application on Felda land in Kota Tinggi. The statement came after a report that private investment firm Via East West Capital (VEWC) had signed an MoU with The One Minerals Mining Sdn Bhd (TOMM) for a 7,000 acres of bauxite mining project in Johor. The joint-venture investment project is claimed to be worth US$350 million (RM1.47 billion) and spanned over the next five years.
State International Trade, Investment and Utilities Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said that no individual or a company, had contacted either the Johor Land and Mines Department or the Environmental Department for any bauxite mining project in Kota Tinggi. No approval had been provided to any private firm to undertake such an activity.
“Up until now, the Johor government has no information regarding this investment. In fact the state government is wary of the announcement by the company, and hopes it is not an act meant to confuse the public in the name of their own self-interest,” Puah was quoted saying by the Malay daily.
TOMM managing director Looi Kam Yong was quoted as saying that the mining would start in the next four to six months. It is to be noted that Kota Tinggi Felda residents are against bauxite mining as they fear their oil palm farms will turn into bauxite mines if a mine gets permit in their area.
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