Kaul Festival in Mukah goes on, not affected by methane gas discovery in Oya, says Fatimah

KUCHING (Jan 23): The Kaul Festival in Mukah will go ahead as planned despite the recent discovery of methane gas at a separate festival site in Oya, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.

The Sarawak Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister explained that the Mukah festival site is unaffected, located 22 kilometers away from Oya.

“Soil investigations were conducted as part of the Oya festival site development, during which gas was detected at one of three tested locations,” she told reporters after a press conference at Baitulmakmur II here.

Following the discovery, development works at the Oya site have been temporarily halted as a precautionary measure, with police cordoning off the area pending detailed investigation by relevant agencies, including experts from the Department of Mineral and Geoscience.

Fatimah noted a similar incident had occurred in Simunjan during soil investigations for a housing project, where methane gas from decomposing organic material caused small but persistent fires.

Firefighters extinguished visible flames in late December 2023, but gas release continued until the situation was fully resolved by late February 2024.

Residents were advised to stay clear for safety reasons.

She said the same approach is being applied at the Oya site.

On Thursday, the Hazmat Team from Bintulu, assisted by personnel from the Mukah Fire and Rescue Station, conducted a monitoring and identification operation from 10.30am to 5pm.

Three gas readings were taken using 4-Gas Meter (GFG) equipment.

All readings consistently showed LEL levels at 90–100 per cent, while oxygen levels fluctuated between 19 and 20.7 per cent.

Trace hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) was detected in the third reading, prompting continued caution.