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On a sustainable Malaysia

— Yasmin Rasyid
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013

MAY 19 — I am sitting here on a fine Sunday, reflecting on the front page news in the Star (May 19th 2013), “Hills in Cameron Highlands ‘raped’ at an alarming rate”, and I was compelled to write this to the editors of all papers, with the aim of expressing my continued disappointment on how this country, rich in natural resources and heritage, is slowly wiping itself out of the surface of this planet.

Now that the political drama in the country has somewhat simmered down, I hope that this is the right time to help build a progressive and forward thinking nation, especially when it comes to ensuring that Malaysia is managed sustainably for the future generations.

In Pahang, we have seen what the media has called the “rape” of the century. For the last two decades, and in my experiences in local environmental issues, Cameron Highlands has gone from bad to worse. Property developers are rushing in to build so called eco or highland resorts. There are a few dams scheduled to be built on the same highland. Meanwhile, land clearing for agriculture is rampant, and landslides aren’t something new. Indigenous communities, meanwhile, and as usual, are side lined. Their voices almost deafened by other so-called urgent agenda. Don’t believe this? Google Tasik Chini.

On top of that, it is also known amongst the public and those savvy with green issues that gold mining in Pahang still uses cyanide. Whether cyanide still pervades the communities of Bukit Koman or not, only the strong probes of the sophisticated machines used by the Department of Environment are able to tell us the truth. What is perplexing is this – whether cyanide is pervasively used or not in Pahang, and whatever is it that comes out from the mouths of the politicians, what is stopping academicians or chemists in this country (private or government) to go down to the ground and be a CSI and measure and tell the truth. It’s bad enough that the media only reports what certain individuals or politicians say, so come on Malaysians, where are the chemistry experts in this country? Can’t you the least help us verify the content of the air, soil and water in Pahang? (Referring to: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2013/5/18/southneast/13124846). While you’re at it, work on a comprehensive study to measure the entire health of the country from water and air quality, to the presence of toxic chemicals in food and so forth. I believe the public wants to know all this. Continue reading “On a sustainable Malaysia”

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This is an election to determine whether rakyat Malaysia will vote for a sustainable future for our children or a sustainable corrupt BN government?

Earth Day is an occasion to remind us that our mother nature is deteriorating over the last few decades, natural resources has been robbed off by corrupt government and their cronies that brought pollution, deforestation and degradation that hampered the livelihoods of people.

During the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2009, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that Malaysia has agreed to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by up to 40% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels, however, polluted industry that has been rejected by other developed countries such as Lynas rare earth refinery plants are allowed to operate in Kuantan and given 12-year tax exemption.

BN is also pursuing constructions of giant petrochemical hub in Pengerang, giant aluminium smelter plant in Sarawak, two nuclear plants in the country, BN government has clearly proven that it is pursuing economic development at all cost at the expense of the environment and people’s health.

If BN continues to run the country, Malaysia will never achieve a sustainable, low carbon and resource efficient future. Only a Pakatan Rakyat that pledge to make Malaysia a cleaner, greener, safer and healthier place to live will reject rare earth plants and nuclear plants to ensure our future generation can live in a better world.

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Pengiraan Detik 98 Hari ke PRU13 – Malaysia berhak mendapat kedudukan lebih tinggi berbanding tempat ke 36 di dalam indeks “Negara terbaik untuk dilahirkan” EIU

Pada Pengiraan Detik 98 Hari ke Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13, Malaysia diingatkan bahawa negara ini berhak mendapat yang lebih baik untuk semua aspek kehidupan di dalam negara ini baik politik, ekonomi, pendidikan, sosial, budaya dan persekitaran.

Malaysia tentu sekali berhak mendapat kedudukan lebih tinggi berbanding tempat No.36 daripada 80 negara di dalam indeks “Negara terbaik untuk dilahirkan pada 2013” dalam usaha Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) mengukur negara mana yang memberikan peluang terbaik untuk kehidupan yang sihat, selamat dan makmur. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 98 Hari ke PRU13 – Malaysia berhak mendapat kedudukan lebih tinggi berbanding tempat ke 36 di dalam indeks “Negara terbaik untuk dilahirkan” EIU”

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98-Day Countdown to 13GE – Malaysia deserves higher ranking than No. 36 placing in the EIU “Best country to be born” index

On the 98-Day Countdown to the 13th General Elections, Malaysians are reminded that the nation deserves better on all fronts of national life, whether political, economic, educational, social, cultural or environmental.

Malaysia definitely deserves higher ranking than No. 36 out of 80 nations in the “Best country to born in 2013” index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) attempting to measure which country provides the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life.

The 10 top-ranking nations in the EIU “Best country to be born in 2013” index are:

1. Switzerland
2. Australia
3. Norway
4. Sweden
5. Denmark
6. Singapore
7. New Zealand
8. Netherlands
9. Canada
10. Hong Kong

Malaysia is outranked by Taiwan (No. 14), United States (No. 16), UAE (No. 18), South Korea (No. 19), Kuwait (No. 22), Japan (No. 25) and Britain (No. 27). Continue reading “98-Day Countdown to 13GE – Malaysia deserves higher ranking than No. 36 placing in the EIU “Best country to be born” index”

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The Malaysian government is “broken” and that’s why it must be “fixed” in 13th GE

Over the weekend, in his speech to the state-sponsored NGO gathering “Himpunan Barisan 1Malaysia” at the Putra World Trade Centre, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said:

“Why fix it (the government) if it’s not broken? It’s not broken, far from it. Our country is the envy of many other nations.”

Both at the thousand-people Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat dinner in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday night and the People’s Green Assembly at Dataran Merdeka this morning at the conclusion of the historic 14-day 300-km Kuantan-Kuala Lumpur trek, I had posed the same question whether the “Malaysian government is broken and needs to be fixed?”, and the answer is a thunderous, powerful and united affirmative!

Fortunately, the Malaysian government has not broken down completely, all the more why it must be “fixed” immediately before it reaches a point of no return.

There is a long list why the Malaysian government is “broken” after 55 years of UMNO/BN rule and needs to be “fixed”, but I will only refer to the following instances: Continue reading “The Malaysian government is “broken” and that’s why it must be “fixed” in 13th GE”

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Tweets on 20,000 patriotic Malaysians at Dataran Merdeka protesting against Lynas

Tweets by Lim Kit Siang today

From Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat Sabah KK 2Himpunan Hijau Dataran Merdeka KL – quickening of awakening of Malaysians all races religions regions
3hrs ago

Final day of 13-day 300km trek from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur to protest against Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng Pahang culminates in 20,000-ppl massive demo
3hrs ago

Most humbling/inspiring sea of confident hopeful patriotic Malaysian faces particularly young generation prepared to stand up for clean/green country
3hrs ago

I told Wong Tack as I joined 20k patriotic Malaysians who loved/cared 4Msia in last lap of 300km Kuantan/KL trek @ Sogo KL, he has made history
3hrs ago

28 Greenwalkers who completed 300km anti-Lynas trek have made history as with massive support of 20k people today, they have sent a powerful messsage.
3hrs ago Continue reading “Tweets on 20,000 patriotic Malaysians at Dataran Merdeka protesting against Lynas”

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From Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka: The emancipatory journey for a green Malaysia

— Boon Kia Meng
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 22, 2012

NOV 22 — Humans make history; but never in circumstances and situations of their own choosing. This insightful observation by Marx, as he watched over the social upheavals unfolding in Europe in the middle of the 19th century, is a timely expression on what is happening in Malaysia today.

Have Malaysians ever heard of a group of ordinary, fellow Malaysians — our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our children — marching slowly but surely, on foot, all 300 kilometres of it, rain or shine, from Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka? All united in a common cause: to stop any further environmental degradation in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, where stopping the Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng, and the Murum and Baram dams in Sarawak, constitutes a fundamental demand.

These Malaysian citizens chose to embark on this journey (dubbed “Langkah Lestari”) because for far too long we have collectively as a nation allowed indiscriminate “development” and rapacious capitalistic resource extraction to go on, all in the name of economic growth and wealth creation.

Just witness the rapid decimation of our natural forestry and the displacement of our fellow indigenous Malaysian communities in Sabah/Sarawak and the peninsula. These have become common phenomena and Malaysians know deep inside that the present state of affairs cannot go on indefinitely without irreversible consequences to our common habitat. Continue reading “From Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka: The emancipatory journey for a green Malaysia”

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10 big questions to ask about Pengerang

— Thomas Fann
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 25, 2012

SEPT 25 — On May 13, 2011, PM Najib announced that Petronas will invest RM60 billion in a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Johor. The Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (RAPID) project by Petronas, as it is known, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2016, as part of the national oil company’s efforts to expand its downstream production.

Exactly a year later on May 13, 2012, when the RAPID project was officially launched, the total value is now RM120 billion, with expected investments from Taiwanese and German petrochemical companies, easily making this Pengerang project the biggest-ever in the history of this nation.

In the midst of all the excitement and promises of economic benefits to the state of Johor and the nation, there has been some disquiet amongst the Pengerang community. Local NGOs were formed and had submitted memorandums to various authorities and several protests were organised this year.

It would be wrong to say that these NGOs and the people they represent are against any form of development in Pengerang but what many are concerned about is that it has to be sustainable. These local NGOs have adopted a unifying theme — Kekalkan Pengerang Lestari, or Maintain the Sustainability of Pengerang. Development of such scale must be embarked upon with regards for the people affected by it and be done responsibly to minimise its impact on the environment.

We have to ask honest questions and hear honest answers to these questions so that the concerns of not just the Pengerangites but also Malaysians are allayed.

There are many issues and questions to ask but I want to list down 10 big questions to ask the government about this massive project. Continue reading “10 big questions to ask about Pengerang”

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Bruno Manser Fund asking for global bank freeze on Taib assets

— CPI
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 25, 2012

SEPT 25 — The Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) is a well-connected international organisation “committed to maintaining the threatened tropical rainforests with their rich plant and animal life, and to campaigning, in particular, for the rights of the peoples who inhabit the rainforests” with an especial focus on Sarawak.

One of the BMF principals — its eponymous founder Bruno Manser — was a Swiss activist who lived in Sarawak with the Penan between 1984 and 1990. He famously disappeared without trace in May 2000 after his last journey to the state.

The rich and infamous

BMF recently conducted an investigation into the wealth of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and his family. These family members include: Continue reading “Bruno Manser Fund asking for global bank freeze on Taib assets”

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Sand, Sensibility and Singapore Bashing

by Koon Yew Yin
CPI

Every few months or so, the subject of selling sand to Singapore flares up in the media.

When this happens in the websites, the discussion takes on a polemical turn – with ‘patriots’ proclaiming how disloyal it is to sell sand to our neighbor; how we are selling out our national interests; etc.

The latest report out in the media states that a private company employed by the operator of the Tanjung Agas Gas and Oil Logistic Park in Pahang is being investigated for smuggling sand into Singapore (see http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/31/nation/20120531065041&sec=nation). Continue reading “Sand, Sensibility and Singapore Bashing”

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My Lynas concerns

By KJ John | Apr 3, 12
Malaysiakini

My questions and concerns about the Lynas project to both the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) is: Why is the development of this particular rare earths plant of such a strategic interest to Malaysia, in the light of the failed Bukit Merah project?

What kind of real or new high-skilled employment is actually generated by the project that it qualifies for a pioneer status of 12 years?

What really is the value add for Malaysian strategic interests, other than the obvious rent-seeking behaviour of local partners; cronies, or otherwise? Does a deputy minister’s brother really have a stake in this project? Why are the Australian owners dumping their rejected project and residuals into Malaysia?

No one really questions the demand or marketability of the final outputs; but, the most serious questions remains the waste generated; and my question is, why in Malaysia, and why in Kuantan?
Continue reading “My Lynas concerns”

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Lynas: What were the IAEA experts thinking on the plane home?

By Rama Ramanathan | March 13, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 13 — The written word doesn’t make faces. Technical reports don’t include snide remarks. International experts don’t publicly reveal some of what they’re really thinking. I wonder what the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were really thinking when they said:

“The 1-2 tons bags of the rare earths concentrate will be transported by road from Mt Weld to Perth (or a nearby port) in 20 ton land-sea containers. From Perth, the containers will be moved on ships to Singapore. From Singapore, smaller vessels will move the containers to Kuantan. Up to Kuantan, the rare earths concentrate will be shipped as normal non-radioactive material, in accordance with international regulations. From Kuantan port, the containers will be trucked 15 km to the Lynas facility in Gebeng. Malaysian regulations require the concentrate to be treated as radioactive material.” [Adapted from IAEA International Review Mission (29 May – 03 June 2011) Report, page 27.]

Do you get it? According to international standards, the material can be handled like any soil. Then, when it lands in Malaysia, “it’s radioactive.” It’s like saying Australian apples are safe worldwide, but not in Malaysia.

This for me is the Lynas dilemma. Continue reading “Lynas: What were the IAEA experts thinking on the plane home?”

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Lynas: A ticking time bomb?

By Joint Action Group for Gender Equality | March 07, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 7 — The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) gave our support for the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 protest of February 26. We joined thousands of our fellow Malaysians in calling for an immediate cancellation of the proposed Lynas rare earth plant.

We understand that this plant would involve the production and handling of radioactive waste materials that are highly toxic and not easily disposed of. Moreover, public concerns about the plant have not been addressed nor have adequate measures been taken to ensure that the plant’s operations pose no threat to the residents of Gebeng and its surroundings.

While we are heartened to see that Malaysians are increasingly mindful of and willing to speak up on issues of public interest, we are disappointed with the government’s dismissive attitude towards the legitimate concerns of ordinary Malaysians on this issue.

If most governments around the world steadfastly refuse to build similar plants in their own countries despite the economic incentive to do so, why is Malaysia going ahead with building this plant?
Continue reading “Lynas: A ticking time bomb?”

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Bina kilang Lynas di Australia sahajalah

By Aspan Alias | February 27, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

27 FEB — Kerajaan patut membatalkan niat untuk meneruskan pembangunan pemprosesan nadir bumi oleh Lynas Corp, di Gebeng, Kuantan. Pemberhentian kerja pembinaan ini sepatutnya menjadi isu yang paling besar yang perlu diselesaikan secepat mungkin. Ini merupakan fokus rakyat dan secara keseluruhannya rakyat mahukan kilang pemprosesan nadir bumi di tutup serta merta.

Kerajaan patut merasakan denyut jantung rakyat dan tidak boleh mengambil ringan terhadap isu ini semata-mata kerana kepentingan beberapa orang yang berpengaruh di negara ini atau di Pahang khususnya.

Biarlah berpuluh billion pun pendapatan yang di katakan akan diperolehi oleh negara, tolaklah operasi kilang pemprosesan nadir bumi ini. Carilah jalan atau perniagaan yang lain untuk dibina di Pahang ini bagi membangunkan negeri itu. Biarlah pembangunan sesebuah negeri itu tidak di cemari dengan bahaya pencemaran yang sangat merbahaya ini.
Continue reading “Bina kilang Lynas di Australia sahajalah”

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Something’s rotten in Kuantan

— Sam Peh
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 23, 2012

FEB 23 — Now let me get this straight: The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB)) need not worry what the international community or investors think about getting Lynas out of Malaysia.

It only think about Malaysians — the same chaps who pay the salaries of Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan and other civil servants. According to the director-general of Lynas, he only goes by the facts.

So do I. The facts are that AELB has given Lynas a temporary operating licence and allowed them to put up a multimillion ringgit plant without a long-term plan for the disposal of toxic waste.

No company in the WORLD has devised a foolproof storage system and to think that some company from Australia has achieved a world breakthrough in storage is a joke. And to think that they have been given a temporary operating licence. Continue reading “Something’s rotten in Kuantan”

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Impotent rage

By Kapil Sethi | November 09, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

NOV 9 — So it’s final. No more PPSMI. Over a year of PAGE campaigning, petitioning, protesting and writing letters to the editors have come to naught. As the deputy prime minister remarked, the decision was made by the government in 2009 and it will not bow to the demands of small groups. The only concession is that those already under PPSMI will be allowed to finish their schooling under PPSMI.

So it’s final. No more arguments over amendments to the Employment Act. Three months of the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) campaigning, petitioning and picketing have had no impact on the government. The human resource minister called the picket illegal (November 1, The Malaysian Insider) and insisted “this is a policy issue by the government. If they picket, they are going against the law.”

Both PAGE and MTUC threatened to divert support from Barisan Nasional to the opposition if their demands were not met. The PAGE Facebook protest page garnered approximately 100,000 “Likes” while MTUC has over 800,000 members and counts on the support of 5.7 million workers. Even the Lynas controversy has managed to alienate a substantial portion of Kuantan residents, with no solution offered by the government beyond bare denials.
Continue reading “Impotent rage”

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Seven-billionth human marks demographic change: expert

by Jim Forsyth
Reuters
Sun, Oct 30 2011

SAN ANTONIO, Tex (Reuters) — The seven-billionth human is expected to be born on Monday, but an expert who helps do the counting says that event comes as the Earth undergoes a demographic shift toward slower population growth.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the seven-billionth child is most likely to be a boy born in India or China, but the trend of fertility in the longer term is in a different direction, says Dudley Poston, a professor of sociology and demographics at Texas A&M University,

For the first time ever, the human reproduction rate is slowing, in many places slowing significantly, and the slowing growth is not only happening in Europe and Japan, he says.

“Once your fertility rates drops below two, it is very very hard to get it to go back up again,” Poston told Reuters.

“We now have 75 countries in the world where the fertility rate is below two,” meaning the average woman is having fewer than two children.

That is far below the rate of 2.2 to 2.3 considered optimal to hold the population steady, factoring in the number of females who have no children or who don’t live to reach childbearing age. Continue reading “Seven-billionth human marks demographic change: expert”

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‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak

by M Jegathesan, AFP | October 27, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

BAKUN DAM: The first turbine is spinning, electricity is pulsing out, and the water level is climbing in the Borneo jungle behind Malaysia’s huge US$2.2 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam.

But questions continue to swirl around the viability of a project described by critics as a graft-plagued human and ecological disaster – and as opposition mounts against a dozen other planned dams in Sarawak.

The first turbine from French giant Alstom began producing electricity in August and the dam’s reservoir has swelled to the size of Singapore since impoundment began a year ago.

After years of warnings about the impact on Sarawak’s pristine jungles and the forced removal of thousands of local tribespeople, the dam’s head Zulkifle Osman sees light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue reading “‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak”

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Let’s debate: Rahman

Daily Express | 6 July 2011

Kota Kinabalu: Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan on Tuesday challenged DAP Advisor Lim Kit Siang to an open debate regarding the proposed Tambatuon Dam.

Expressing disappointment with the Ipoh Timur MP, he said the latter has been continuously instigating the people of Kg Tambatuon with misleading facts about the issue.

“His intention is very clear which is to score political gains at the expense of national interest (food security), long term benefit to the thousands of poor farmers and solution to the drinking water supply and flood mitigation of the people of Kota Belud,” he said in a statement.
Continue reading “Let’s debate: Rahman”

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Design problems, hazardous construction plague Lynas plant, reports NYT

The Malaysian Insider | June 30, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The controversial Lynas rare earths refinery in Kuantan is plagued by environmentally hazardous construction and design problems, the New York Times has reported, citing internal memos and current and former engineers on the project.

The report published today said the issues, including moisture in humid Malaysia, could potentially affect the RM700 million Lynas Corp plant being built to challenge China’s stranglehold in the key rare earths industry.

Malaysia is due to announce today the results of an independent international review of the plant that is scheduled to open this September. The listed Lynas Corp has asked for a halt in its share trading in Australia today pending the report.
Continue reading “Design problems, hazardous construction plague Lynas plant, reports NYT”