Paper short abstract:

The paper analyses the art of managing tailings by the community of mining enterprises in negotiation with the colonial authorities in the post-flood era. The mitigation measures were designed to relocate pollution and protect the polluting companies.

Paper long abstract:

At the height of colonial mining in Malaysia, the Great Flood of 1926 prompted mining companies to engage with the colonial authorities to manage the risks of flooding and tailings. This paper is divided into three parts.

The first part examines how the mining companies’ community positioned, navigated and negotiated the politics of river governance. To what extent were collective strategies designed to mitigate and manage the environmental crisis in the post-flood era? How did they reconfigure a new pattern of practices, norms and regulations in colonial extractive industries?

The second part analyses the outcome of the negotiations between the mining companies and the colonial authorities. There were two mitigation measures: relocating tailings and protecting polluting companies. To what extent were these measures modelled and implemented? How did they forge or reinforce social and environmental ramifications?

The final part draws an exception case study to general governance policy: a Japanese iron company developed its own strategy to reduce environmental impacts. How did the Japanese company deal with the tailings and menaces to rivers with autonomy? To what extent did its resources and motivations shape its decisions and tactics to reduce risk? The research shows that the Japanese company was more willing to adapt to relatively less destructive measures than the general mitigation policy.