The moratorium on bauxite mining in Pahang has been extended again, for the third time, until the end of the year. The ban, which was scheduled to expire on September 14, has been extended by the federal government because local operators have still not managed to clear up existing stockpiles…

First came a three-month ban, imposed in mid-January, on bauxite mining in Pahang. Then in mid-April came another three-month extension to the ban. Now comes another two-month extension to the three-month extension, expanding the ban until September 15. And a good thing too, all things considered. The moratorium on bauxite…

Come June 15, bauxite mining will resume in Pahang. Or maybe not. The federal government is mulling extending the temporary ban further still to allow more time for operators and state officials to comply with more rigorous rules and regulations. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are being currently designed and…

A basic principle of economics is supply and demand. When there is demand for a product, someone will be willing to supply it. At what cost to the environment that demand is met, however, is another matter altogether. And so it has proved with the mining of bauxite in Pahang….

Cultivating banana trees, oil palms, cassava roots and lemongrass may not seem like a big deal, seeing as all these tropical crops are commonly grown across Malaysia. Except that Surin Deris, a farmer in Kuantan, is doing so in soil that was extensively damaged last year by bauxite mining, which…