Villagers surrounding the Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve in Sik, Kedah, have called on the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the theft of rare earth elements (REE) from the area.

This is because the mining activities could be illegal as there was no environmental impact assessment (EIA) obtained beforehand, they said.

A villager, 54-year-old Zulkifly Hassan, said if...