Well, after the U-Turn as mentioned by Prime Minister Mahathir about Lynas waste, one wonders what is the position of Anwar Ibrahim or any of the other Members of Parliament of Pakatan Harapan...
No viewpoints...no opinions...no stand taken?
Those in the Cabinet, the Cabinet chosen by the Prime Minister, may not want to express a position contrary to what the Prime Minister says ...for maybe, this was a decision made by Cabinet...and maybe they are agreed that Cabinet members will not say anything but support the Cabinet's decision - Was it a majority decision? Was it unanimous? Or was it a Prime Minister's decision and all Cabinet members have no say or no vote...
But wait, remember Nazri Aziz, the Minister in the former BN Cabinet - did it not come out and state publicly that he was for the abolition of the death penalty - He clarified that this was his PERSONAL position - not the Cabinet or government position. That is kind of Cabinet members we want - persons with positions of their own - who bravely will let the world know...are there no such MPs anymore...?
Anwar Ibrahim - well, he is not in the Cabinet...he is a government Backbencher...and that means he is FREE to express his own personal view on the matter...What about Kit Siang...and all the other MPs ...to date, only maybe 2 MPs have voiced some form of opposition?
Does Anwar care about anything else other than becoming next Prime Minister...and maybe now securing his position and popularity in PKR? That is the impression we get reading the media...
Has he come out taking a different position on anything that Mahathir and/or his Cabinet said or did? No viewpoints and/or positions of his own?
Is that the problem with Malaysia's Members of Parliament? Are they all simply 'YES MEN OR WOMEN' - no opinions and viewpoints other than what is expressed by their Prime Minister..or party leader?
END SECRETS when it come to voting in Parliament - let the people know which MP voted for what? MPs should vote according personal positions - not simply vote according to what party leaders....
HOW MUCH DOES MALAYSIA OR MALAYSIANS GET FROM LYNAS BEING IN MALAYSIA?
Lynas is a primarily Australian Company - so, really how much money does Malaysia make by Lynas factory in Malaysia?
Do we get a share of the profits - I do not think so
Maybe, we get something from import-export taxes > so, how much is that per year?
Maybe, we get some money through wages and bonus earned by Malaysian workers (so, how many Malaysian workers really...how many migrant workers?
Maybe, we get money for electricity, water, utilities, licences...
ON, THE OTHER HAND - is the possible IMPACT to the environment, health, farming, river/seas...and the impact is very LONG TERM if the waste is allowed to be stored in Malaysia permanently...
I wonder what Anwar will say if Lynas was in Port Dickson? What will Azmin say if Lynas was in Gombak? ...Now, the risk is highest in Pahang and Trengganu...Maybe, some in government just do not care if their own constituency or State may not be affected...
MP Fuziah of Kuantan's recent attempts to justify is PATHETIC - she implies that it is Japan's pressure since it's companies are the main customers of Lynas - Well, then Lynas can move to Japan and open the factory, can't they? - But alas, Japanese are maybe 'smarter' than Malaysians...they may not want the factory there...Maybe same reason why the factory is not in Australia(or even Trengganu) but in Pahang...
To suggest that everytime Malaysia borrows - then Japan has 'power' over Malaysia is absurd - I do not believe Japan will do that...(If they are, then PM must tell us...). Japanese companies can always get what they need from other companies ...
See earlier post:-Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh says Malaysia is in a jam over the Lynas issue as the main beneficiary of the processed rare earths is Japan, which has provided financing for the government in the form of Samurai Bonds....
In an open letter on the Lynas issue, Fuziah, a vocal critic of the plant in Gebeng, Kuantan, blamed the previous government’ for the borrowing from Japan, and for running up too many debts.
“I would like to state that Japan is the sole beneficiary of rare earth elements from Lynas. Would investors in Japan remain quiet if Lynas is unable to supply them?”
She said, such a situation would cripple Japanese downstream industries which depended on rare earth elements....- FMT, 4/8/2019
Lynas - No more send back waste to Australia - now OK if PERMANENT disposal facility? Earthquake, Sabotage, Wear and Tear?
The Lynas con
Opinion |
S Thayaparan
Published: |
Modified:
COMMENT
| It would be a great loss to Malaysia if misguided people prevent us
from extracting and using the high clean electrical capacities of rare
earth. Just as the lithium ion batteries in the cellular phones is not
harmful even when we carry them everywhere in our pockets and put them
to our ears, the mining and extracting of rare earth from Malaysian
earth will not harm us in any way. – Mahathir Mohamad, 2012.
It
does not matter what your position is on the Lynas issue. What matters
is the fact that the Harapan government’s u-turn on Lynas makes the
anti-Lynas activists look like a bunch of dodgy environmentalist who
duped the then Harapan base with propaganda.
Keep in mind the
dodgy environmentalists were supported by mendacious politicians who
jumped on the bandwagon sloganeering and making promises that shutting
down Lynas would save Malaysia.
Back in 2012 at an anti-Lynas rally in Penang , the then Penang Chief Minister led a chant of, “Henti Lynas, Selamatkan Malaysia'
(Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia). Anwar Ibrahim, now PM designate, claimed
that if the then Pakatan Rakyat won Putrajaya, they would cancel the
Lynas project and defend all environmental and heritage issues.
This
was seven years ago. Since then the anti-Lynas rhetoric leading up to
the historic May 9 win became more intense. Lynas was portrayed as an
existential threat to Malaysia. Commentary around the issue hit the
usual Harapan talking points. The talking points revolved around,
corruption, an uncaring government and that the Umno regime was intent
on committing crimes environmental and otherwise on Malaysian citizens.
While
Harapan’s manifesto may have been silent on the issue, is this an
excuse for allowing Lynas to continue its operations – even if such a
decision is “kicking the can down the road” – instead of keeping
promises made by politicians on the run up to May 9, which was supposed
to not only save Malaysia but save lives?
Wong Tack (above),
whose appeal was that he was more activist than politician, rode on the
anti-Lynas wave and become part of a coalition that overthrew the Najib
regime. The Lynas issue, which for so long we were told was an
existential threat to Malaysia, became a symbol of the radioactive
nature of Umno politics that seemed to be on the verge of being settled.
The
government’s backtracking on this particular issue is appalling. Before
the historic May 9th win, politicians from Harapan portrayed this issue
as one of life and death. The propaganda coming out from the then
Harapan opposition painted the Umno regime as culpable for all sorts of
imagined crimes if the “radioactive” Lynas by-products infected the
citizens of Malaysia.
Now we are told that even though the
situation is less than ideal, it is preferable to the status quo.
Preferable to the status quo? Before the election, stopping Lynas meant
saving lives. What changed?
DAP Youth deputy chief Chiong Yoke
Kong is on the ball when he demands that the minutes of the cabinet
meeting be made public and the stand of each cabinet minister on this
issue be revealed.
Malaysians have a right to know, which cabinet member
does not want to save Malaysia, or was just playing Harapan supporters
for fools when he or she claimed that stopping Lynas meant saving lives
and saving Malaysia.
The cynic in me wonders if DAP youth already
knows the answer to their query and are confident that what is revealed
would cause them no fallout, but why question political motives for
transparency when it comes to this issue?
It gets even more
curious when you consider the comments of Deputy Minister in the Prime
Minister's Department Fuziah Salleh who somehow finds a way to blame former BN ministers for being "deceived" by Lynas but loses the courage to name these ministers.
How
long is Harapan going to blame the BN regime for their backtracking and
policy failures? The real question is how come these former BN
political operatives have more influence in the Harapan government than
Harapan political operatives?
And doesn't this demonstrate the
utter failure of Harapan political operatives in containing the
influence of former Umno/BN members who we were told would be controlled
when Harapan claimed the throne of Putrajaya.
Meanwhile, Wong
Tack, wonders if there are dark secrets about the Lynas deal that people
don’t know off. Well, yes, there very well could be some dark deals or
maybe it is just business as usual for this government. What this
government has done is make Wong Tack the poster child of the boy who
cried wolf.
Wong
said, “As the rakyat of Malaysia Baru, the people deserve to know the
reasons if we are forced to swallow Lynas' toxic radioactive wastes and
subject our children to so many risks,” which brings up a valid point.
Before
the historic May 9th win, Harapan accused the Najib regime of allowing
the citizens of Malaysia to be exposed to hazardous materials for
profit. This appeal to emotion was the most virulent kind of anti-Lynas
propaganda that implied that the Najib regime was so uncaring, so
corrupt that the regime was willing to sell Tanah Melayu and poison
children for profit.
The question of Wong Tack’s resignation is a
legitimate one. I think Wong Tack should resign and run as an
independent, if he believes that there are dark, secrets behind this
deal and believes what he said of Lynas before the election.
After
all, if he continues in his role as a politician for Harapan, he would
just be carrying on the lies of a government that claimed that the Lynas
issue was one of life and death for the good people of Kuantan.
Unless, that view was complete bunkum? Unless all the pre-election
rhetoric demonizing Lynas and its supporters were part of a propaganda
campaign against the Najib regime, and Harapan had no intention of
shutting down Lynas. This explains the earlier views of the current
grand poohbah.
Alternatively, maybe Harapan politicians knew that
Lynas was not an existential threat to Malaysia and as such, Lynas
should be allowed to continue because profit trumps whatever
expectations Harapan supporters have of their elected reps. This makes
the backtracking worse because in the Harapan dominated social media;
pro-Lynas advocates were shouted down and portrayed as stooges for Lynas
and the Najib regime.
Pro-Lynas advocates have argued that
numerous false claims were made against the company and that there was a
concerted effort to spin evidence and facts against the company.
Meanwhile,
Harapan politicians used Lynas to gin up a base which not only gorged
on the 1MDB fiasco, but who had no problem believing that the Najib
regime would endanger the lives of children with radioactive waste for
profit.
When Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate
Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin says that “The Cabinet has taken note of
various viewpoints on this issue, and some people have varying views.
Therefore, this is the decision that has been reached” is complete horse
manure.
I get that there could be varying views on this issue,
but what is important is the views of the Harapan government that,
before their electoral win, claimed that by shutting down Lynas this
would save lives and Malaysia. _ Malaysiakini, 5/8/2019
In other words, you said, you own it.
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