As Malaysia Bans Sand Exports, Singapore Says It’s Using Less

Anisah Shukry and Philip Heijmans Bloomberg 4 Jul 19;

Singapore said it’s been trying to reduce reliance on sand, as neighboring Malaysia announced a ban on all exports of sea sand since last year on environmental concerns.

The city-state piloted a polder development in outlying Pulau Tekong that uses less sand compared to regular reclamation, a spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of National Development said in a statement. The government has also sought to diversify its sources of sand to ensure resilient supply, the spokesperson said.

The ministry was responding to questions after Malaysia’s Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar said that the country’s sea sand will be limited for domestic use only. The exports ban won’t affect ties with Singapore as it isn’t related to the city-state’s reclamation efforts, he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Sand is a key resource for neighboring Singapore, which looks to land reclamation as part of its plan to mitigate the impact of climate change. Almost one-third of the country rests just five meters above sea level. Over the years, the country’s biggest suppliers of the resource, including Indonesia and Cambodia, have already halted exports to limit environmental damage.

Exports of river sand from Malaysia would require approval from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Xavier said.


Mahathir government banned sea sand export last year over environmental concerns, says Malaysian minister
Trinna Leong Straits Times 4 Jul 19;

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia imposed a ban on all exports of sea sand due to environmental concerns after the new government took office last year, its Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Xavier Jeyakumar said on Thursday (July 4).

He also said the ban was not linked to Singapore's reclamation works.

"When we took over the government, we decided the sea sand will not be exported to any country," said Mr Xavier, speaking on the sidelines of a Parliament session.

"It is not just to Singapore. We have stopped exporting to any other countries outside Malaysia," he added.

But river sand would continue to be exported, he said, including to Singapore.

Sea sand is mostly used for land reclamation, while river sand is a core component in construction materials like cement.

Mr Xavier dismissed claims that the sea sand export ban was targeted at Singapore's reclamation works.

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"There is nothing to do with that. Singapore can always buy sand from other countries who are exporting sand in case they want to do reclamation," he said.

"Silica is exported to Singapore because there is a demand for silica sand in the industry," he added.

Silica sand is often used as a raw material for industrial items like glass, chemicals and plastics.

Reports claim that Kuala Lumpur is concerned that Singapore has expanded by a quarter in size since independence.

Malaysia exports roughly two million tonnes of river sand to countries such as Singapore, China, India, Mauritius and Brunei, Mr Xavier said.

Sea sand mining, however, has been limited to domestic usage, with the bulk of it channelled to Penang and Melaka, which require a total of 15 million tonnes to complete ongoing reclamation projects.

Singapore's Ministry of National Development said the country has multiple sources of sand and is also reducing its reliance on sand.

"Sand is imported on a commercial basis from various countries to ensure resilience in our sand supply. Suppliers are expected to abide by the laws and regulations of the source country," said a ministry spokesman in response to queries.

These regulations can range from sourcing sand from legally permissible areas, to complying with environmental protection laws and possessing the relevant export permits and documentation.

Singapore has also been encouraging industry to reduce the reliance on sand, the ministry added.

"Most recently, we piloted a polder development in Pulau Tekong, which reduces the volume of sand needed as compared to traditional reclamation. The Government will continue to work with industry players to explore new and innovative means to reduce our reliance on sand," the spokesman said.

The technique of empoldering, traditionally used by the Netherlands, will be employed in land expansion in Pulau Tekong. This involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it, creating a low-lying tract of land below sea level called a polder. It is said to reduce the volume of sand needed.

Additional reporting by Rachel Au-Yong


Xavier: Sea sand export ban not targeting Singapore
martin carvalho, hemananthani sivanandam, rahimy rahim, and tarrence tan The Star 4 Jul 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: The ban on all sea sand exports is due to environmental concerns and has nothing to do with land reclamation by Singapore, says Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

"Singapore can always buy sand from other countries… Nobody is stopping them. We have no right to stop any countries from doing reclamation," he told reporters at the parliament lobby.

He was asked to comment if the sea sand export ban was only to Singapore.

It was reported that Singapore imported 59 million tonnes of sand from Malaysia in 2018 at a cost of S$347mil (about RM1.1bil), according to United Nations Comtrade data, which is based on information provided by individual countries' customs offices.

The data does not distinguish between types of sand.

Dr Jayakumar said that the Malaysian Government had introduced the ban in May last year after taking over the Federal Government.

"The Government has decided that at present, there is no need for us to export sand to any country outside Malaysia.

It was a decision made by Cabinet and we followed through," he said.

He also did not think that the ban would complicate bilateral relations with Singapore.

"We have done a study on sea sand exportation which is mined more than 3km outside the shoreline. We only allow the mining of sea sand for local use in areas places where hydro studies have been done to make sure the sea bed is safe for sand extraction," explained Dr Jayakumar.

Asked if the ban would affect government revenues, he said: "No. The revenue for sand exportation is very small. The revenue to the state and the Federal Government's is only through taxation of the company that shown in its annual report of what amount of businesses that have been done by that company.

"So there is not much of a difference towards government revenue anyway," he said.

However, Dr Jayakumar pointed out that river sand can still be exported to Singapore.

"But these exports must get the approval of the Prime Minister. It also goes to China, India, Mauritius, Brunei," he said, adding that global demand for sand was high.

Ban on sea sand exports for environmental reasons, Singapore not targeted: Malaysian minister
Channel NewsAsia 4 Jul 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia denied on Thursday (Jul 4) that its ban on sea sand export is designed to stop Singapore from expanding its land mass, with Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar saying that river sand is still being exported to its neighbour.

The Cabinet minister dismissed claims in a news story that the ban was introduced because Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was upset that Malaysia’s land was being used to increase the size of Singapore.

“No, there is nothing to do with that,” he told reporters at the parliament lobby.

On Wednesday, a Reuters article said Malaysia imposed the ban on Oct 3 last year in a move that could affect Singapore’s expansion plans on reclaimed land.

Anonymous government officers quoted in the report said the ban was not made public because of the potential diplomatic fallout. The sources also made the claim that the ban was brought in because of the Malaysian prime minister's concerns.

Reuters also quoted Endie Shazlie Akbar, Dr Mahathir’s press secretary, who denied the move was aimed at curbing Singapore’s expansion plans, saying it was designed to clamp down on illegal sand smuggling.

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Dr Xavier also said the ban was due to environmental concerns and was not targeting any countries.

“I don’t want to single out one country. I don’t think there is any problem in our relationship with any countries as far as this business is concerned,” he said.

“We have made a blanket decision and it stays that way.”

Malaysia would not lose out financially with the ban in place, the minister stressed, as the revenue from sea sand exports is “very, very small”.

There is also a huge domestic demand for sea sand as Penang, Malacca and Negri Sembilan have embarked on reclamation projects, he added.

Dr Xavier said extraction of sea sand for local use is only allowed in places where hydrogeological studies have been done by the Department of Mineral and Geoscience. This is to ensure that the seabed is safe for such activity.

The ministry also monitors illegal mining closely through patrol and raids, he added.

On the other hand, river sand extracted from Malaysia is still being exported to other countries, including Singapore, China, India, Mauritius and Brunei, the minister said.

“We have no problem in allowing our entrepreneurs to exporting silica sand to Singapore,” he said. Four companies currently hold licenses to export river sand.

SAND IMPORTED FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES: SINGAPORE'S NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY

Responding to the claims made by Reuters, Singapore’s Ministry of National Development said sand is imported from various countries to ensure resilience in the supply.

“The Government has also been encouraging the industry to reduce the reliance on sand,” a spokesperson said.

Citing a pilot polder development in Pulau Tekong as an example, the spokesperson said the project reduced the volume of sand needed compared with traditional reclamation.

“The Government will continue to work with industry players to explore new and innovative means to reduce our reliance on sand.”

The spokesperson added that suppliers of sand are expected to abide by the laws and regulations of the source country.

“These include sourcing sand from legally permissible areas, complying with all environmental protection laws of the source countries, and possessing the proper sand export documentation and permits from relevant authorities in the source countries.”

Source: CNA/tx

Sea sand export ban not targeted at Singapore, says Malaysian minister
Today Online 4 Jul 19;

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar has refuted suggestions that Putrajaya's ban on sea sand exports was aimed at stymieing the land expansion plans of its southern neighbour, Singapore.

He also clarified that the ban only pertains to the export of sand mined from its seas, adding that the government allows the export of river sand, subject to prior approval from Malaysia's Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

News agency Reuters reported on Wednesday (July 3) that Malaysia, Singapore's biggest source for sea sand, has banned the export of the commodity, which it said could complicate the island-state's ambitious expansion plans on reclaimed land.

But Dr Jayakumar said these measures were introduced after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) took over the government, to increase revenue for the states and to protect the environment.

Malaysia only does not allow the export of sand mined from its seas, Dr Jayakumar clarified.

The water, land and natural resources minister added that the government allows the export of river sand, subject to prior approval from the prime minister.

“When PH took over the government last May, the Cabinet decided that sea sand cannot be exported to other countries.

“That is the policy for the time being the revenue is very small and it goes to the state. Federal revenue is only through the taxation of the companies,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby on Thursday.

He explained that the other reason for banning the export of sea sand was based on a study by the Minerals and Geoscience Department, which found that the mining of sea sand cannot be done more than three kilometres outside the shoreline to protect the seabed.

“A hydrological study was done in order to ensure the seabed is safe for us to extract the sand because there is environmental impact,” he said.

Dr Jayakumar said it would not jeopardise bilateral ties with Singapore as far as the business is concerned.

He also said the ban had no correlation with Singapore’s expansion plans on reclaimed land.

“They can always buy sand from other countries for their reclamation process. We have no right to any country from doing that,” he said. AGENCIES