Friday, December 07, 2018

Lynas, ICERD and DAP


Government announced the closing of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia. The late Chairman, Dr Zubir Harun, who passed on after GE14, would be turning in his grave to know of this.

Prior to GE14, opposition politicians criticised the giving of "dedak" handouts by government. Within 6 months in power, the agency, which supported the poor, single mothers, and those without means to make a living across all races with fishing rods to fish, was closed up. Naturally, the excuse is political and one can expect the blame to 1MDB, Jho Loh and RM1 trillion debt lie.

Underlying all these moves is DAP pursuit to realise their utopian Malaysian Malaysia for equality across all races at breakneck speed and taking advantage of the political lull of UMNO, PPBM and PKR without consideration for social fallout and massive numbers falling into poverty.

More important than equality is social justice across all races. The equality for budget allocation to all types of school means the more in number, and higher priority under the Federal Constitution like Islamic religious and national schools will get less per school than other type of schools. Brutal budget slashing to MARA, B40s, and other groups under guise of equality is denying social justice.

Fuziah Salleh may not realise but she is being made a front for a DAP-initiated effort to close the non-issue Lynas. In doing so, she is pandering to DAP agenda, assisting their political in-road into Pahang, and denying her fellow Pahang-ites the fishing rod to be economically independent.

Lynas employed 90% Malay workers and generate economy to the local community. Getting FDI is tough these days and yet PH government is lengthening Malaysia's long list of foreign countries it is quarrelling with. Latest being Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

Fuziah is being picked for being adamant to regurgitate the same call, which seemed more political than technically justified, for Lynas to send back residual waste indifferent to the opinions of experts in the Review Committee.

She is vocal but Wong Tuan Tat seemed to slowly move out of the limelight. A case of hiding the hands that first threw the stone. So it will end up as Melayu lawan Melayu. 

The fight against Lynas inextricably can be linked to the DAP supported COMANGO agenda to make the Bumiputeras, Islam and various rights under the Federal constitution inferior to the United Nation Conventions such ICERD and 6 other Conventions planned to be retified.

Turning to be another disappointment
The Lynas case was thought to be an issue where politics end and rationality begin. The praises for Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) Minister, Yeo Bee Yin turned out to be premature.

She started on the right footing to put together a Review Committee of only technical experts and no politicians. But in the end, politics i.e. political intervention remain prevalent and a different technical conclusion was made.

It has to be political intervention. Otherwise, why the sudden gag order issued after the Review Committee was earlier able to announced their finding independently.

Something was wrong and cooking when Wong Tuan Tat call on MACC to investigate the review commitee member for corruption. Is DAP calling the shot on MACC?

Lynas suddenly announced closing their operation for December. The claim radioactive and toxic waste is a million tonne a years sounded like a Goebbel exegeration similar to the RM1 trillion national debt claimed by Lim Guan Eng.

The technical review committee has already given Lynas a low risk and legal compliance report rating.

However, MESTECC drew their own conclusion to claim there are 451,564 metric tonnes of radioactive Water Leached Purifcation (WPF) waste and 1.113 million metric tonnes of non-radioactive neutralisation underflow (NUF) waste accumulated since operations commenced in 2012.

They claimed the radioactive waste, which was earlier proven to have levels no higher than Geigmuller reading at Putrajaya, is currently stored at their temporary residue storage facility.

It was highlighted here that unless political intervention, Lynas should be allowed to continue their  operation. PH government applied power to impose new technical requirement since Lynas is on a temporary storage licence for radioactive WLP residue which is to expire on Sept 2, 2019 and  approval for storage of non-radioactive NUF waste is valid until Feb 15, 2019.

Business and foreign investment could not operate on ad-hoc rules and regulations with new ones being conjured up according to the political flavour of the day.

The imposition of new regulation would cost Lynas additional RM60 million. Their shares has drastically dropped in the market.

More so, the conclusion drawn up by MESTECC is not based on scientific basis but politics. [Read open letter from Lynas here]. The groundwater claim is unjustified.

Lynas will proceed with the already planned permanent disposal facility (PDF) for WLP residue. The status of the transportation condition is not clear yet. By right, government have to provide certain concession for Lynas to absorb such phenomenal cost.

Another case of FDI losing money due to political and regulatory risk of Malaysian government and character flaw of Malaysian leaders.

Lynas may consider legal action against the government. DAP-controlled government can put up a bold front. However, they have yet to realise that Malaysian government or agencies have poor track record of winning at international court of arbitration on commercial dispute. If Lynas win, they will only blame the previous BN government and shrug any responsibility from their actions.

The worse impact is MESTECC has added on Australia to the already long list of China, US, EU, UK, Saudi Arabia, Gulf states, Singapore, etc. in dispute with Malaysia due to the whim and fancy way the new government make decisions.

Are they hoping Japan as the answer to our only yearning for FDI and a miracle to come out from Russia that was allegedly responsible for shooting down MAS's MH17?

More such irrational actions will keep surfacing from this new government under the guise of human rights and various ungodly new righteous ways which is not in sync with the Constitution and Rule of Law.

Bantah ICERD! 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

JAPAN sounds familiar ...they need Lynas product ...so if they force lynas to shut down ..how to deal with Japan ....

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