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Saturday, February 20, 2021

First durian control, then veg farm in CH, now 202ha industrial waste site in Pahang

FMT:

A 202ha industrial waste site in Pahang? It’s shocking, says C4


C4 has slammed the government for not being transparent about such a huge project like the waste site for Lynas that it claims can damage the environment.

PETALING JAYA: A total of 202.35ha will be carved out of the Bukit Kuantan permanent forest reserve to be converted into a multi-category industrial waste site involving a project which is shrouded in secrecy, according to an anti-graft group.

The Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4 Centre) said it was shocked and demanded increased transparency in the approval of such potentially environmentally sensitive projects, particularly in the case of Lynas Malaysia’s permanent disposal facility (PDF).

The Multi-Category Industrial Scheduled Waste Disposal Site (MCISWDS) project, C4 said, illustrated a lack of proper due diligence on the part of the government and insufficient willingness to engage with the public.

“Malaysians have come to expect large-scale projects in Malaysia to be shrouded in secrecy and embedded in the political-business nexus that plagues the country.

“This Lynas PDF issue highlights the risks and potential harm that the lack of transparency can bring to our environment and public health.”

Citing reports which quoted the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA), C4 said 202.35ha at Bukit Ketam, Pahang, will be developed as a MCISWDS, with Lynas to use 58.25ha, or 29% of the whole project.

It questioned how the Environment Department could consider approving the PDF facility if a similar impact assessment had not been conducted for the entire 202.35ha site.

“Without considering the cumulative impacts of both the PDF and the MCISWDS, crucial information such as the anticipated concentration of toxic compounds, the implications of construction, the impact on human health, among others, would be inaccurate,” it said.

It added that as Bukit Ketam is still listed as a Rank 1 Environmentally Sensitive Area, according to the Kuantan District Local Plan 2035, it should not undergo development without the requisite public consultations to amend the existing plans.

C4 also questioned how Gading Senggara Sdn Bhd, “a company with questionable financial viability and limited public information”, could be selected for a project worth RM400 million.

It identified financial reports, as recently as 2018, that indicated the company’s retained earnings appearing negative, with no revenue and it incurring a loss after tax.

It called for an end to opaque business practices to ensure proper environmental protection procedures are followed so as to avoid potential future disasters.

Australian company Lynas, which operates its rare earths processing plant at Gebeng, Kuantan, announced in late January that the Pahang government had consented to a site at Bukit Ketam for its PDF for water leach purification residue.

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From Malaysiakini (relevant extract):

The Lynas component, which makes up about one-third of the site, will require radiological and environmental monitoring for at least 100 years.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that the proposed MCISWDS in Bukit Ketam, the size of 283 football fields, has been carved out of the Bukit Kuantan Forest Reserve.

A private firm that is majority-owned by Pahang Regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah will be the contractor of the MCISWDS.

Even though the EIA report for Lynas' PDF has gone on a month-long public display since Jan 27, there was little attention over the mega project.

Affected communities don't normally pore over voluminous EIA reports until the impact becomes apparent.

The situation was not unlike the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng, which started construction in 2010. Since 2008, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh has been the lone voice in Parliament to raise concerns about the Lamp.

The community only started to notice and organise themselves after the Lamp was approved and already under construction.

After years of protests, Lynas finally agreed to move its cracking and leaching process, which produced the radioactive Water Leach Purification (WLP) residue, back to Western Australia by July 2023. It was part of an agreement with the Pakatan Harapan government in 2019 in exchange for extending its operating licence.

Even though the radioactivity of the WLP is considered low, there has been a build-up of the residue since 2012 and more will continue to accumulate until 2023. This is where Bukit Ketam comes in.



4 comments:

  1. If the Race and Religion Zombies support it, it will go-ahead.

    Especially if "Royalty" name is involved.

    In actual fact, most of them don't really care for Royalty, but the "defence" of Royalty is part of the Race and Religion Supremacy ethos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. During Harapan time KT always hentam Toonsie for allowing Lynas to operate, and also DAP & PKR for supposedly supporting him.

    But when Yiddin re-opened Lynas in May 2020 after Sheraton Shake, and with strong MCA support for the decision KT was silent, until now 9 months later?

    In 2012 when Jibby originally approved Lynas, MCA was so hot under the collar, protes this protes that, now in gomen very quiet, let's see how they pusing pusing about the waste disposal facility....ha ha ha...

    QUOTE
    Lynas restarts rare earth plant operations
    NATION
    Tuesday, 05 May 2020

    KUANTAN: Lynas Corporation has restarted operations at its rare earth refinery here after being closed for more than a month.

    The company said in a statement that the plant was restarting following an announcement by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on May 1 that almost all economic sectors, including manufacturing, would be allowed to operate from May 4, subject to prudent standard operating procedures.
    UNQUOTE

    QUOTE
    MCA against Lynas plant if no guarantee waste is sent abroad
    The Star
    April 3, 2012

    The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) will strongly oppose the issuing of an operating licence to the Lynas rare earth refinery project if the company cannot guarantee the waste is taken out of the country.

    MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that, after much deliberation during the MCA presidential council meeting, the top party leaders had decided that they would convey the decision to the Cabinet and the National Economic Council.

    “As long as they (Lynas) cannot fulfil this condition, MCA will object to Lynas getting its operating licence,” he said after the meeting on Tuesday.
    UNQUOTE

    ReplyDelete
  3. i thot land enclosure happened only in the past when feudal lords rule.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yr dangdut pals r still living in their feudalistic trance.

      Hence yr serf servitude!

      Delete