Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Lynas Corporation & Rare Earths
But I must blog now before it is too late, just to be on record that I am not without my opinion on this issue. Lynas Corporation, the company which has obtained a temporary permit of operations to process Rare Earths on Malaysian soils, had recently applied in the court for an injunction from stopping all Malaysians to discuss about the Rare Earths issue.Fortunately their application has been rejected by the court, but they will not give up so easily.They will try and try again and eventually get what they want, you know how it is in Malaysia.
So I have to blog about it now.
Actually, the Lynas issue is very simple and straight forward, either you take the foreign investment in the expense of the health of Malaysian citizen or reject it. It has been dragged on for so long despite the series of criticism from various NGOs and the public demonstrations is because the government has committed, already wet their foot as the saying goes (Cantonese say:洗湿咗个头) and there is no turning back. That is why it is in a stalemate now.
The government's argument is that there is no "scientific proof" that Rare Earths processing in Lynas Corporation's factory will be unsafe. If anyone can produce such proof, the government will stop the project. Wah, that is an over generalized statement by any standard! How scientific is considered scientific? The simple fact that Lynas Corporation does not set up shop in their own country and have to come all the way to Malaysia is a clear indication that Australian government does not find it safe to have the factory in their own country.
Are we more scientific that the Australian government? I am not looking down upon ourselves, we send the best of our youths to study in Australia, to learn from them. Don't we?
Also on the question of dumping the residues from Rare Earths factory, it was suggested that the residues be sent back to Australia for safe dumping because they have better expertise than us. But the Australian government rejected the proposal flatly. What does it mean? It means the Australian does not want it, why,why,why?
Then there came the suggestions that with proper control and monitoring, it is safe to have the factory here.Then again, can we trust the Malaysian Public Service Department with our health and well being? Sorry to say that the confidence level of the public is extremely low!
Of course the top management of Lynas Corp had came forward to claim that it is safe and that Australian government had in fact approved the setting up of their factory in Australia - deep in the desert of the Australian Out Backs! If it is safe why can't they have their factory in the urban areas? Why in the Out Backs,is it because the inhabitants there are the aborigines and not the white?
Lynas Corp comes to Malaysia is not because they sincerely want to invest here, but because they know no white men will like to work in the Out Backs and also they can't trust the natives there to run the factory.Malaysia therefore becomes a very practical alternative. Simple as that.
China is the largest producer of Rare Earths in the world, but they have decided to limit the rate of production for the sake of good health of the people.Super powers of the world like USA are angry about this and try to pressure China to lift the limit. But China does not give in. Malaysia should take a hint from China, if we want scientific proof.
History, though not scientific, is a good teacher. The tragedy of radio active Rare Earths is not new in Malaysia. About 30 years ago, in 1982, Asian Rare Earths Sdn Bhd (ARE) started operations in Bukit Merah New Village in Perak to extract yttrium, a category of Rare Earths. Few years later, physical defects were found in newborns in the village. It is linked to the ARE operations nearby. It was stopped after much publicity and investigations.
Do we have to wait until history to repeat itself before some thing is done to prevent it from happening?
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