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Two men (C) known as the 'tonto', guards hired to protect the mining activities from angry villagers and observation by the media, sit between trees as Bauxite mining activities are going on as usual despite the recent strong opposition from local residents in Bukit Goh, Kuantan, Pahang state, Malaysia, 06 January 2015. After hundreds of dead fish have been washed up in nearby Sungai Tonggak on 05 January, residents in the area are on alert and in fear of a possible bauxite contamination. Malaysia's branch of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) had called on the government to heed the voices of the local communities, scientists, stakeholders and the public and immediately halt all bauxite mining activities in the region. Bauxite mining in Pahang state will be suspended for three months starting 15 January, to counter pollution and illegal mining, Malaysia???s Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said during a press conference in Kula Lumpur the same day. Local media reported that Malaysia exported more than 20 million tonnes of bauxite to China in the first 11 months of 2015, nearly 700 per cent more than the previous year. (Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA)
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