In a rare move, Chinese assembly halls from eight states have openly expressed their support for the Himpunan Hijau 3.0 rally which is to be held at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) park on April 28, and are calling on the people to attend.

These eight Chinese assembly halls, umbrella bodies of most of the Chinese associations and guilds in their respective states, issued a joint statement today headed "Let's attend 428 rally: pursuing green democracy; building sustainable home".

They are from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Penang, Johor, Perlis, Sarawak and Terengganu.

They pointed out that after the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally in Kuantan on Feb 26, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak assured the people that his government would not issue an operating licence to Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) should the people reject the rare earths refining project.

"Unexpectedly, Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan recently revealed that Lynas had been awarded the licence to import raw materials and temporarily store waste. We are very disappointed over this.

"Therefore, we call on all people nationwide who are concerned about environmental issues to attend the rally on April 28 at KLCC park, to express civil society's determination in rejecting environmental hazards," their statement says.

It stressed that environmental issues have never been given such attention before.

These problems included the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) plant in Bukit Merah, Perak, in the 1980s; the construction of high-tension electricity towers in Rawang; gold mining using cyanide in Bukit Koman, Raub; and the recent move to develop a massive oil and gas refinery in Pengerang, Johor.

"Environmental protection and economic development share the same objective. We are never against development but in the context of a democratic society, public consultation and participation during the decision-making process should be strengthened to achieve environmental fairness and justice.

"If the price for economic development is the depletion of land and environmental resources, and the distortion of social order and values, or even causing hazards to the next generation, we will not ignore and compromise," their statement adds.