Category: environment

SM Mohamed Idris
The Malaysian Insider
May 18, 2011

MAY 18 — On 14 May, the Minister for the International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohammed announced the independent panel to review the proposed Lynas rare earth processing plant in Gebeng, Pahang.

Since the review involves environmental and public health and radiation safety issues, concerning a hazardous facility, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the MITI.

We are thus puzzled why MITI was charged with announcing the review panel members, bearing in mind that a preliminary environmental impact assessment was submitted to the Department of Environment (DoE) in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2008.

We are also puzzled as to why an independent Malaysian authority was not responsible for the appointments of each of the nine members of the review panel. A more suitable and impartial body like the DoE should have helmed the selection process instead of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board which as it turns out, delegated the entire responsibility to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA’s main interest is to promote nuclear energy and its related activities worldwide. Whereas the DoE was set up to protect the environment and promote environmentally sustainable activities. Continue reading “Lynas Review Panel must be reformed”

By G Vinod | May 19, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Two Australian environmental groups believe that the Lynas rare earth mine in Kuantan would leave a toxic legacy for decades.

The environmental groups – Friends of the Earth Australia and the Conservation Council of Western Australia – said that by not revealing the data before embarking on the project in Kuantan, company has something to hide.

The groups in a joint statement said they want the Kuantan project stopped until the company reveals its environmental assessment data of the site.
Continue reading “‘Leaving behind a toxic legacy for decades’”

By Keruah Usit | May 18, 11
Malaysiakini

Five Bidayuh defenders of Native Customary Rights (NCR) to land were released today after being initially suspected of committing arson at a logging camp in Tebedu, Sarawak.

The camp is owned by Alliance Bahagia, a logging contractor employed by the state-run Sarawak Foundation.

Papai Anak Atin, Barak Anak Kolol and Mani Anak Marin of Kampung Temang Mura, Karia Anak Daruh of Kampung Patah and Peter Anak Laiong of Kampung Mawang were arrested in Tebedu last Friday and taken to Kuching, around 90 minutes’ drive away.
Continue reading “Cops release Bidayuh villagers suspected of arson”

Japan Today
Tuesday 17th May

TOKYO — An adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Monday that the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had failed to inject water into the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors for more than six hours after the March 11 massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

Goshi Hosono, tasked with handling the nuclear crisis, said at a press conference that Tokyo Electric Power Co had not been able to cool down the reactors’ cores due to loss of external power for a long time after the quake, acknowledging that fuel in the vessels might have largely melted ‘‘in the worst-case scenario.’‘

But he added TEPCO has been succeeding in preventing the reactor’s fuel from overheating so far and reiterated the government will stick to the timetable set by the firm, which announced April 17 it aims to bring the crisis there under control in six to nine months.

His remarks came a day after TEPCO said a nuclear fuel meltdown at the No. 1 reactor is believed to have occurred around 16 hours after the devastating quake and tsunami crippled the plant’s critical cooling systems.

TEPCO is slated to release on Tuesday an updated roadmap for bringing under control Japan’s worst nuclear accident based on new information about the plant’s condition. Continue reading “Meltdown may have occurred also at Nos. 2, 3 reactors”

Tweets @limkitsiang:-

Kuantan Police cynosure. Is Lynas already exercising Xtraordinary influence over Kuantan Police? Contd subversion of national institutions?

Internet-savvy IGP, r u following this? Shd apologise n tel/stop Kuantan police from its folly b4 Police become world laughing stock.

Hisham will have 2explain Parliament wh Police have new SOP 2get urine test from all arrested, rationale – recipe 4PDRM become world-class?

Hisham – in national interest, wld Police arrest IbrahimAli n demand urine test 2stop lies n seditious race/religious baiting?

Hisham – can explain Y police so tough overbearing w loyal peaceloving defenders environment? @LeeChinChen they want us to do urine test!

If DAP/Christian rep had said 10% what Ibrahim did, ISA/worst laws wld have been thrown at him.Hisham – Y so soft now? Continue reading “10 Days in May (10)”

Al Jazeera – 101 East

By Clara Chooi
May 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUANTAN, May 15 — Police arrested four DAP members here this morning for holding a demonstration to protest the Lynas Corp rare earths refinery in Gebeng.

DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief Anthony Loke (file picture), who was present at the time, told The Malaysian Insider that the police moved in to arrest the four just as the event on was nearing its tail end.

He explained that the programme had began with the opening of the Kuantan DAP service centre on Jalan Beserah at 10am this morning before moving on to a short demonstration.

“It was just a small one… three of us gave speeches, (Triang assemblyman) Leong Ngah Ngah, (PKR’s Indera Mahkota MP) Azan Ismail and then me. Continue reading “Police detain four DAP members in anti-Lynas protest”

By S Pathmawathy
May 15, 11 | Malaysiakini

At least four people were arrested in Kuantan, Pahang today during at a rally organised by the anti-Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) movement.

The protestors had gathered in front of DAP’s service centre in the state capital at about 11.30am.

Barely 10 minutes into the demonstration, the police had moved in.

DAP Pahang publicity secretary Chow Yu Hui and organising secretary Lee Chin Chen as well as Khor Huey Ying and Thing Siew Shuen, from the DAP’s headquarters were arrested. Continue reading “Four arrested at anti-Lynas protest”

By Mustafa Sharif | May 12, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

One common feature of us Malaysians is our ability to stomach so much nonsense and then don’t do anything to make a change.

We are lied to on a daily basis by politicians, bureaucrats and the media but still shrug our shoulders and get on with our lives. The strange part of this is that if our wife, children or siblings fudge the truth, we chew their heads off and threaten Armageddon.

And yet, arguably, it is the daily deception by politicians, bureaucrats and the media which impacts our life greatly. Let me just list a few examples of these lies and deceptions.

1) The great Lynas scam. If not for the role played by Internet portals, the Lynas rare earth project would have flown under the radar. Federal politicians and Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob knew about the toxic nature of the project but FDI is more important than TMR (the mortality rate). When the firestorm about the project could not be contained, the newsletters@newspapers suddenly discovered the issue. More like, they could not bury it. It is crazy man. Hundreds or thousands of lives could be at stake and government politicians and their newspapers are either ignorant or part of a deception.
Continue reading “Time to make a stand, Malaysians”

By Keruah Usit
May 11, 2011
Malaysiakini

ANTIDOTE Natives from 10 villages in Tebedu, Sarawak, are said to have torched dormitories, bulldozers, tractors and other machinery at a timber camp on May 9.

The Bidayuh villagers had been blockading the timber access road of logging contractor Alliance Bahagia to defend their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.

According to witnesses, nobody was injured in the arson attack. Police arrived at the scene in Tebedu, about 90 minutes’ drive from Kuching, in time to see the equipment and buildings aflame.

Police were far outnumbered by “emotional” villagers and did not make any arrest.
Continue reading “Bidayuh villagers burn timber camp”

By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2011

KUANTAN, May 10 — The Pahang Bar revealed today a Western Australian local council had “vigorously” opposed Lynas Corp building a rare earth refinery in its home state as the main reason for the Australian miner to ship its ore some 3,000km to Malaysia to be processed.

State Bar chief Hon Kai Ping said his team of lawyers had unearthed the minutes of the meeting of the Council of the Shire of Northam dating back to November 23, 2005 which recorded the local government “vigorously opposes the siting of a hazardous waste disposal and treatment plant at the Avon Industrial Park (in Meenar) based on the negative perceptions that the location will cause to Grass Valley, the Town of Northam and the Avon region.”

The document, Hon added, stated among other things: “The Town of Northam, along with other Councils in the Avon Valley, has been promoting the Valley as a clean and green tourism and lifestyle experience. Having a hazardous waste site on the Town’s doorstep would undo a lot of the work that has been undertaken by Council…” Continue reading “Western Australia said no to Lynas, Pahang Bar reveals”

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — A Kuantan man made an impassioned plea today for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to halt the construction of a controversial rare earths refinery near his home town, after an attempt to protest the project was snubbed earlier by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Earlier today, about 100 residents from Kuantan had gathered at the entrance of Parliament to voice out against Australian mining firm Lynas’s plans to build the new plant in Gebeng.

“We don’t want another Bukit Merah incident. We just want to make an appeal to PM. I know you (Najib) are watching, but this is what the citizens want,” implored Vincent Jiam Tee Hoong, the chairman of the residents’ movement.

Bukit Merah in Perak was the site of rare earth plant operated by Mitsubishi Chemicals, which has been blamed for an increase in the incidence of leukaemia in workers and nearby residents.
Continue reading “As Lynas plant looms, man begs PM for kids’ future”

In view of the worsening nuclear crisis situation in Japan, the Malaysian government should take proactive steps in ensuring the safety of Malaysians in Japan.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, said today that the situation does not warrant an immediate evacuation of Malaysians living there, as readings taken in Tokyo, Miyagi and Ibaraki yesterday afternoon averaged about 0.17uSv/hr (microsieverts per hour), which was lower than the maximum allowed radiation dosage of 0.5uSv/hr for the Malaysian public.

In contrast to the minister’s calm response, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the overall situation was “very serious” though did not appear to be deteriorating. The chief US nuclear regulatory official said radiation levels around the fuel ponds were extremely high and “potentially lethal” near the reactors. Explaining the decision to deploy helicopters on Thursday, Toshimi Kitazawa, the defence minister, said conditions at the reactors had reached a critical point.

IAEA also reported that in some locations at around 30 km from the Fukushima plant, the dose rates rose significantly in the last 24 hours (in one location from 80 to 170 microsievert per hour and in another from 26 to 95 microsievert per hour). Dose rates to the north-west of the nuclear power plants, were observed in the range 3 to 170 microsievert per hour. Dose rates in other directions are in the 1 to 5 microsievert per hour range.
Continue reading “Speedy action by Malaysian Government in evacuating Malaysians in Japan needed”

The last six days has been the hardest moments for Japan as a nation as they are faced with an earthquake of a magnitude of 9.0, followed by the nuclear explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plants with a radiation contamination threat.

Malaysians extend their greatest sympathies to Japan for the earthquake that has struck in such unexpected fashion. Indeed, the people of Japan had shown great courage in face of the national tribulation which has been described as the worst disaster of the nation after World War II.

The incident had revealed the inconvenient truth for the proponent of nuclear power that it is a high-risk gamble. Officials in Japan have said that the nuclear reactor was built to withstand disasters. Yet the accident which occurred has caused such detrimental result.
Continue reading “Malaysia should learn the lessons from the Japan Nuclear Catastrophe”

By Steven Mufson
The Washington Post
Monday, March 14, 11

Japan stepped closer to a full blown nuclear catastrophe Tuesday after the third explosion in four days appeared to have damaged equipment inside the reactor, apparently creating a path for the escape of radioactive materials, and a fire broke out at a separate reactor where spent fuel and hydrogen ignited. Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner of the seaside nuclear complex, ordered the evacuation of all but the 50 most essential workers and the Japanese Prime Minister addressed the nation urging people within 19 miles to stay indoors and remain calm.

Officials from Tokyo Electric Power, the plant owner, said the 6:14 a.m. explosion took place in the unit 2 reactor at or near the suppression pool, which collects water and radioactive elements from the containment vessel.

Experts said that, unlike the two previous explosions that destroyed outer buildings, this one might have damaged valves and drain pipes, possibly creating a path for radioactive materials to escape.

The explosion — more serious than the earlier blasts — was followed by a brief drop in pressure in the vessel and a spike in radioactivity outside the reactor to levels more than eight times what people ordinarily receive in a year, the company said. Tokyo Electric, which over the weekend said it had 1,400 people working at the complex, said it was evacuating all nonessential personnel, leaving about 50 people there. Continue reading “Japan steps closer to a full-blown nuclear catastrophe”

by Goh Keat Peng

In the news this week, we are numbed by reports of the death of hundreds of human beings not unlike ourselves. Some of these our fellow human beings were going about quietly in their everyday life in a city that is not only beautiful in myriads of ways but also ordinary like many other cities of the world. At 12.51 pm on February 21, 2011 an earthquake struck and to date, 147 have being confirmed dead, with still 200 people missing.

What do we, can we, say? For all these many years, that city like so many others in the human world was functioning normally with few if any extraordinary event ever happening. Then this thing happens and loved ones, colleagues and neighbours are taken from this life in a twinkle of an eye leaving behind heartache, anguish and bewilderment. Even those who are left without loss of loved ones face months if not years of rubble- physical and emotional- to cope with. Normalcy and routine as one resumes one’s life under these circumstances is not possible for a while. Continue reading “Dying in two different ways”

By Boo Su-Lyn
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET) has forecast continuous rain in major towns in Johor throughout the week.

Unrelenting rain in the southern state has forced thousands from their homes, cutting off Segamat and threatening other towns.

“Tomorrow morning, we expect isolated rain over coastal areas,” an official from MET’s Central Forecast Office told The Malaysian Insider today.

“We expect thunderstorms in the afternoon tomorrow throughout Johor,” she added.

Heavy rain is forecast in Segamat today and all of tomorrow, while thunderstorms are expected to occur in the afternoons for the rest of the week, according to the MET website.

Segamat’s first respite from the rain is expected to come only on Saturday afternoon. Continue reading “MET sees non-stop rain in Johor this week”

by Shannon Teoh | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Unrelenting rain in Johor has forced thousands from their homes, cutting off Segamat and threatening other towns, raising fears of a repeat of floods six years which claimed six lives and inflicted more than RM1 billion in economic losses.

Nearly 30,000 people have been evacuated so far, with 16 villages in Segamat inundated by as much as one metre of water. Two deaths have been reported so far.

According to locals in the Segamat area, the situation appears worse than the floods that hit Johor in December 2006 and January 2007.

The Meteorological Department is predicting more rain for the rest of the week.

Motorists had to leave their vehicles as three rivers in Johor burst their banks and five more are being monitored by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage.

Rescue workers are only able to access Segamat by boat as all three main roads out of the town have been closed off by police.
Continue reading “Thousands leave homes as Johor braces for more rain”

The DAP Ipoh Resolution:
MUAFAKAT TRANSFORMASI MALAYSIA
(adopted by the DAP National Conference 2010 in Ipoh on Sunday, 17th January 2010)

PREAMBLE

1. That the nation is waiting for a profound change is beyond doubt and that it is now a fact that the government-of-the-day is incapable of changing the intolerably arbitrary, self-serving, unjust, cruel and corrupt system of governance;

2. That the world does not stand still to wait for Malaysia, and we risk watching Asia changing and its economy growing not as an active participant but as bystander if we do not catch up fast;

3. That to save Malaysian governance from further deterioration, the economy from further plunder, and the people from further injustices is a shared imperative;

4. That the Democratic Action Party (DAP) therefore, in partnership with other Pakatan Rakyat parties and in cooperation with civil society, is determined to transform Malaysia through a new muafakat (consensus)

   • by reversing distortions and corruptions of the Constitution, the rule of law and the system of governance,
   • by restoring mutual respect amongst Malaysia’s multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious peoples,
   • by renewing trust in public institutions and in the security services,
   • by rejuvenating the economy
   • by conserving the environment,
   • by revamping the education system, and
   • by re-establishing hope in our future as a nation;

Continue reading “The DAP Ipoh Resolution”

By Saves DK

From Copenhagen to Sabah – Does the threat of Climate Change ‘change’ according to Time Zones?

Dear Prime Minister Najib Razak,

Once again, we welcome your serious and determined efforts to reduce carbon emission to help halt global warming in the interests of our future generations.

Surely, the first important step to CUTTING (rather than increasing) carbon emission is to cancel the proposed coal power plant to be built in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu, which is very close to the various pristine, precious natural paradise of Darvel Bay, Coral Triangle Initiative, Tabin Wildlife Conservation area and so on, which make the East Coast of Sabah one of the remaining natural treasures of the world.

You have asked for our views “on what more we can do to ensure a greener Malaysia, so that we can learn from each other.” Great! Here are some. We do not dream that you would actually ‘learn’ from humble Sabahans like us, but we would be very grateful already if you could at least be consistent in your position on climate change and coal.
Continue reading “From Copenhagen to Sabah: 1Earth, 1Climate Change; 1Najib?”