Too many unanswered questions to allow Lynas to operate, DAP MP tells Pakatan govt
BY R. LOHESWAR
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Bentong MP Wong Tack has condemned Putrajaya’s decision to extend Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s operating license by six months Bernama pic |
KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 3 — Bentong MP Wong Tack has condemned Putrajaya’s decision to extend Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s operating license by six months.
In a statement, Wong said there are too many unanswered questions for the government to continue to allow the Australian rare earth mining company to operate in Pahang and build its Permanent Disposal Facility for its Water Leached Purification (WLP) residue in the state.
Wong questioned the size of the land the government is giving Lynas to build the PDF, and whether it is safe enough to store the radioactive waste without leaking.
The DAP lawmaker also demanded the government state how much Lynas was being charged for the upkeep of the PDF as well as the land it will be built on.
“So, how big a piece of land are we planning to offer Lynas? At what price is Lynas going to buy the land from us? Are they going to pay our children every 99 years until the end of time? Who is going to pay for the monitoring, management and maintenance of the dump for billions of years?
“Our country has already lost 100 hectares of land to bury Japan Mitsubishi’s joint-venture Asian Rare Earth (ARE) radioactive waste near Bukit Merah. Lynas’ 600,000 tonnes of radioactive wastes currently piled-up in their flood-prone backyard is already more than 50 times the lifetime amount generated by ARE,” said Wong.
Wong alleged that recently there have been reports of cracks emerging from the ARE’s disposal facility of which construction was only completed a few years ago, and asked the government the extent of the damage so far.
He also accused the government of misleading people with the term “permanent”, claiming that the Orang Asli and locals living around the area of the mining plant would have to eventually leave their homes to make way for the PDF.
“How do you define “permanent”? 100 years? 300 years? Bear in mind that the cancer-causing Thorium in Lynas’ radioactive wastes has a half-life of 14 billion years. Therefore, the only things that are permanent here are permanent health, permanent financial and permanent psychological burdens.
“The government should not mislead the people. “Temporary” Disposal Facility is a more appropriate term to use,” he added.
Wong also said the decision to allow the PDF to be built has created anxiety among the locals who have been using the land around the Gebeng industrial area for centuries to make a living.
He said the toxic waste from the waste disposal will affect their livelihood and could push them out of their homes if the land is repatriated by the government for Lynas’ PDF.
“There are many poor, honest and hardworking farmers who have been applying for small plots of land, an acre or two, but until today, they remained living in anxiety, not knowing whether they will one day get chased off from their lands.
“The Orang Asli communities as we all know, are suffering the same fate, brutally denied of their ancestral lands. Yet, the leadership of this country have no qualms to offer a foreign corporate coloniser huge pieces of land for billions of years to dump toxic radioactive wastes,” he added.
“The Cabinet’s decision to extend Lynas’ operating licence is wrong. It has to be urgently reviewed.”
On August 19, Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government never discussed with Lynas pertaining to PDF, as one of the conditions following the Cabinet decision to renew Lynas’ licence for another six months effective September 3.
The Department of Environment (DoE) has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for Lynas to build a landfill to store its neutralisation underflow (NUF) residue providing it fulfills 68 conditions.
He also accused the government of misleading people with the term “permanent”, claiming that the Orang Asli and locals living around the area of the mining plant would have to eventually leave their homes to make way for the PDF.
“How do you define “permanent”? 100 years? 300 years? Bear in mind that the cancer-causing Thorium in Lynas’ radioactive wastes has a half-life of 14 billion years. Therefore, the only things that are permanent here are permanent health, permanent financial and permanent psychological burdens.
“The government should not mislead the people. “Temporary” Disposal Facility is a more appropriate term to use,” he added.
Wong also said the decision to allow the PDF to be built has created anxiety among the locals who have been using the land around the Gebeng industrial area for centuries to make a living.
He said the toxic waste from the waste disposal will affect their livelihood and could push them out of their homes if the land is repatriated by the government for Lynas’ PDF.
“There are many poor, honest and hardworking farmers who have been applying for small plots of land, an acre or two, but until today, they remained living in anxiety, not knowing whether they will one day get chased off from their lands.
“The Orang Asli communities as we all know, are suffering the same fate, brutally denied of their ancestral lands. Yet, the leadership of this country have no qualms to offer a foreign corporate coloniser huge pieces of land for billions of years to dump toxic radioactive wastes,” he added.
“The Cabinet’s decision to extend Lynas’ operating licence is wrong. It has to be urgently reviewed.”
On August 19, Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government never discussed with Lynas pertaining to PDF, as one of the conditions following the Cabinet decision to renew Lynas’ licence for another six months effective September 3.
The Department of Environment (DoE) has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for Lynas to build a landfill to store its neutralisation underflow (NUF) residue providing it fulfills 68 conditions.
Talk cock only. If he has any decency he should resigned as MP
ReplyDeleteDAP is caught in a trap of its own creation.
ReplyDeleteHow about a vileful compromise to stabilize a government in infancy?
ReplyDeleteSuch compromise needs to be made bcoz there r ketuanan morons working within & without the administration!
Pure & simple!
Don't quit Wong Tack, keep fighting, be the thorn in Toonsie's side and in parliament, be the voice of your constituents in particular and all Malaysians in general. If you quit you become barking dog on the streets. No more suara Yang Berhormat.
ReplyDeleteQUOTE
Wong Tack wants MACC probe into PMO’s Lynas FAQ
Bentong MP Wong Tack is demanding that the MACC look into the decision by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to distribute a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the Lynas rare earth issue.
“Previously, we have seen certain ministries flying here and there, interfering in matters not within their purview,” claimed Wong in a statement today.
He said that we now see the same thing from the PMO.
“This is an insult not just to the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Climate Change and Environment (MESTECC), but to the PMO as well,” he said.
Wong added his personal belief that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not have allowed the PMO to be compromised and “his good office to be degraded into a sales office, his officers relegated to become the mouthpiece of Lynas.”
Therefore, Wong said it was imperative that those officers responsible be identified.
“They have abused and humiliated the highest office of our country.
“It is obvious their actions were intended to legitimise the operations of a foreign corporation,” he claimed.
“I urge the MACC to step in to investigate the officers involved for possible abuse of power or corruption,” he added.
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