I’m writing this in response to Dr Looi Hoong Wah’s letter titled “Thorium-232 is safe if you don’t eat or inhale it” , dated Dec 22, 2011, as I feel the unfairness in his post and am somewhat offended by it.

No doubt Dr Looi has done his research regarding the safety of Thorium-232 and has pointed out that it is safe, as long as it is not inhaled or consumed.

With all due respect to him, I guess he is missing the main point here.

I am from Kuantan and I feel that the main issues here are that the people of Kuantan have been mistreated by their own government.

With so many issues at hand regarding permit, construction issues, requirements not met etc, the government is doing nothing to stop Lynas from proceeding.

In fact, Lynas has been ignoring the concerns of the people and continues on proceeding even when they have not met the requirements.

There was little to no communications between them and the people of Kuantan.

Now, with such a company that could not get the fundamental rights, I wouldn’t trust them too much about safety. Yes, indeed we are afraid of the plant explosion.

What is wrong with that? It is completely logical to have that fear looking at the less than professional way of Lynas’ way of handling things.

We are talking about highly toxic and radioactive substances being processed in our beloved hometown. I can understand the fear of the people of Kuantan that there is no certainty of what is going to happen.

The incident in Bukit Merah did happen right? I can also understand if the people of Kuantan not being able to sleep with these worries in mind.

Even if Dr Looi’s statement (Thorium-232 is safe if you don't eat or inhale) is true, I choose to take the sceptical stance here unless he can show us his research about Thorium-232.

What I mean by research here is properly endorsed and published scientific journals or articles about the safety of such a processing plant, as well as Thorium-232 specifically, not merely Google search results.

Ever heard of the saying “do not judge a book by its covers”? Many things cannot be seen just by looking at the pictures.

For example, we do not know if the scientists handling the Thorium-232 with their bare hands are in specially treated rooms or environment which allow them to do so.

Maybe they have special equipment for them to clean up after handling those substances? If so how do you expect all people of Kuantan to have these equipment at home?

And with the current sub-par plant management from Lynas even during its construction phase, I have little faith that it would be completely safe and no incident would actually happen.

Who knows, particles of Thorium-232 might be exposed to the open environment without anyone realising it and people are actually breathing in and consuming those particles?

I think it is understandable for Kuantan’s inhabitants to be worried about this, don’t you think o?

With that I choose to believe the residents of Kuantan are not brainwashed. It is easy to brainwash a group, but near impossible to do that to a whole town.

I’m now working in KL but my elderly parents lives in Kuantan and have been there since the past 30 years or so. My father is retired and my mother is about to retire in a few years’ time. They cannot afford to move elsewhere as they are not capable of doing so financially.

They are practically stuck in Kuantan with nowhere to go to. Isn’t it logical to have the fear of incidents similar to Bukit Merah happening in the very town they live in? The case with my family is just a tiny fraction of those who are affected by Lynas.

Can Dr Looi or Lynas feel the pain and worries that the people of Kuantan are facing? I don’t think so.

I don’t mean to be rude to or insult Dr Looi personally but I think for a person with a doctorate, he is extremely closed-minded by making lopsided observations and coming out with statements without looking at the big picture.

From his letter I can see that he is not a resident of Kuantan nor anywhere near it. While I would be tempted to call him arrogant, ignorant, and tell him to take his insensitiveness to shove up his rear, I wish not to do.

All I want to do is to convey a simple message to Dr Looi and everyone reading this, which is that we, the people of Kuantan, people of Malaysia have been intruded and bullied by an outsider.

Nothing has been done about it; nothing has been done to stop them. There is a much bigger picture than merely the Thorium-232 alone. I pray for your understanding.