OYA: Public safety continues to be a priority following the discovery of methane gas at the Oya Kaul Festival site on 21 January, with immediate preventive measures implemented by the relevant agencies.

Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said that initial action was taken through the cooperation of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), Resident's Office, District Office, Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Oya Village and Community Leaders (KMKK) to avoid any risk to the public.

"Initial action was taken to avoid any risk given that the area involved business activities as well as embankment construction and site development work," she said when met at the site on Saturday.

According to her, preliminary investigations found that only one of the four boreholes drilled as part of the project contractor’s soil investigation emitted gas, while the remaining three showed no similar indications.

The Dalat Assemblywoman said that JBPM is also conducting continuous monitoring to identify the type of gas released and that the information has been channeled to the relevant parties.

In a related development, the Geoscience Department will send a geophysics team with special equipment to Mukah starting this Tuesday to conduct a detailed investigation over several days.

Dato Sri Fatimah said the investigation aims to determine the condition of the subsurface layers before any decision is made on whether development activities in the area can proceed.

While awaiting the official decision, she added, the area involved is closed to the public as a safety measure.

She stressed that for the time being, the priority is to ensure that the safety of the public is always maintained, despite the situation affecting business and development activities in the area. -UKASnews