Blasts, tremors in Perak not connected to quarry activities.
Perak Mentri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu has urged the public not to spread unverified news on the blasts, followed by tremors in various parts of Perak, especially Ipoh, yesterday.
He said the unverified news could confuse and frighten the public in the state.
“I urge the public not to be so quick in spreading unverified news without confirmation from the government as this will give the impression that the state is not safe.
“We (the state government) will announce if we have the correct information, and so far, the situation in the state is under control and the people need not worry,” he told reporters today.
He was commenting on the incident which had gone viral on the Internet after netizens claimed the tremors were caused by quarrying activities in Simpang Pulai while others said it was a routine exercise by the Royal Malaysians Air Force.
Ipoh District Police Chief ACP Mohd Ali Tamby said in a statement today that so far, police have not received any reports in the 25 police stations in Ipoh of the incident and were still searching for information or confirmation from any party.
Meanwhile, the Perak Mineral and Geoscience Department (JMG) has denied that the blasts and tremors were connected to quarry activities.
Perak JMG director Ahmad Zukni Ahmad Khalil said quarry activities in the state were carried out and controlled by the Perak Quarry Rules 1992.
“The rules clearly impose tight conditions on quarrying activities involving blasts, like the permitted level of explosion and tremors.
“Every quarry activity must have a quarrying scheme prepared by a competent consultant engineer and all applications for quarry operations in Perak will be brought to the quarry advisory committee chaired by the director of the Land and Mines (PTG) office,” he said.
He added that the Perak JMG had inspected nearby quarry sites in Simpang Pulai to ensure they were not connected to the blasts.
He added that the source of the blasts and tremors was still a mystery but denied they were connected to any earthquakes.