KUANTAN, Jan 15 — After wallowing in bauxite dust for more than two years, Kuantan residents can now breathe comfortably with the three-month moratorium on all bauxite mining activities enforced today. 

A check by Bernama at areas badly affected by bauxite mining, including areas around Kuantan Port, Gebeng Industrial Estate, Kampung Felda Bukit Goh and Felda Bukit Kuantan, found the places in a peaceful state with the absence of mining activities and bauxite trucks. 

Clean up activities were also being carried out by Kuantan Municipal Council and firefighters at several areas, including the areas stretching from Jalan Sungai Lembing heading to Felda Kampung Bukit Goh. 

Enforcement personnel from the Road Transport Department (RTD) and Volunteer Corps Malaysia (Rela) were also positioned along bauxite truck routes at Bandar Damansara Kuantan, Jalan Bukit Kuantan and Gebeng. 

Meanwhile, Bernama found the local community had mixed views on the moratorium implementation. 

Kampung Felda Bukit Goh resident Harith Zulkarnian, 33, said he felt relieved after the messy bauxite activities were halted. 

“For the past two years, we had to endure the terrible bauxite dust and when it rains, red coloured water would flow into our house compounds,” he said.

Harith also expressed regret that it had taken so long for the issue to capture the attention of leaders and enforcement authorities when they should have resolved the matter at the initial stages. 

With the turn of events, Kampung Balok Makmur resident Adi Wahab, 35, said it was now no use crying over spilled milk. 

He said there was no hope for Kuantan to recover and return to normal with the environmental damage that had been done. 

“I do not know whether to be happy or sad with the moratorium. Damage has been done and it is now pointless to take any form of action,” he said. 

A stall owner in Taman Sungai Karang Maju here, Zaharudin Abdullah Tahir, 39, was unsure of his feelings on the implementation of the moratorium.  

He said before the bauxite mining activities began taking place, he had many regular customers comprising teachers and workers of nearby schools and offices.

However, he said they had stopped coming due to the dust as his stall was located by the roadside where the bauxite lorries used to ply. 

“From then on my regular customers were the bauxite lorry drivers. Now with the moratorium I have no more customers,” said Zaharudin adding that the three-month moratorium period was too short to enable the situation in the affected areas to return to normal.  — Bernama