Govt urged to stop'anti-government' labelling on anti-Lynas

PETALING JAYA (Aug 11, 2011): Hua Zong (Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia) president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah has urged the government to stop labelling those who are against the Lynas rare earth plant in Pahang as “anti-government elements”, the Chinese press reported today.


He said almost all Chinese organisations in Pahang and many in other parts of the country have passed resolutions to oppose the plant, which is being built in the Gebeng industrial zone near Kuantan.

“Does it mean all these Chinese groups or their leaders are anti-government?” he asked.

He said it is undeniable that a minority anti-Lynas group has a political agenda but it would be unfair to the majority of those who oppose the rare earth project for the authorities to lump them all together and regard them as being anti-government.

“What I want to emphasise is that the rare earth issue is an important public issue. It is also an environment, industrial, economic and foreign investment issue.

“Of course, it can also be regarded as a political issue. But those who are against the rare earth plant cannot all be labelled as ‘anti-government’. This (the labelling), is what we cannot accept.”

He pointed out that there are also those from the Barisan Nasional component parties, particularly Chinese-based or dominated parties, who are against the project.

Speaking at a function in Mentakab on Tuesday, Pheng urged the government to respect the public’s anti-rare earth stand so that its “People first, performance now” 1Malaysia principle will not become mere empty slogan.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia said it is dead set against the Lynas plant, Nanyang Siang Pau reported.

The federation said the government should listen to the public as the rare earth issue concerns society.

Federation president Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng said it will call on all its 188 affiliates to oppose the project.

History has taught us that radiation contamination can harm the human population for generations, he said.

The Bukit Merah Rare Earth processing plant incident in the 80s and more recently the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster should serve as reminders that we should never allow the rare earth incident to recur in Malaysia, he said.