By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Jan 23: The upcoming Kaul Mukah Festival, taking place in April, will not be affected by the methane gas discovered at Kaul Oya site, says Minister of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
She said the gas was detected during soil investigations carried out for a development project at the Oya Kaul site, about 22 kilometres from Mukah.
“Thus, Kaul Mukah will not be affected. The gas is only at Tapak Kaul Oya,” she told reporters during a press conference held at Baitul Makmur 2 here today.
She further said development work at the Oya site has since been temporarily halted as a safety precaution.
According to her, police have cordoned off the area while experts from the Department of Mineral and Geoscience conduct further investigations to determine the presence and volume of methane gas in the soil.
Fatimah also drew parallels with a December 2023 incident in Simunjan, where methane from decomposing soil caused small fires. By late February 2024, the fires were reported to be fully extinguished.
“Methane is highly flammable, so the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) is monitoring the situation and had advised villages to stay away from the area,” she added.
Following that, Fatimah stressed that the Kaul Mukah celebration remains safe and will proceed as planned.
The iconic Kaul Mukah Festival will take place from April 19 to 27 with an array of exciting activities planned, including procession of the boats, Kaul Seraheng Kakan and Keman Kaul. – DayakDaily
