COMMENT The 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) will be tabled in Parliament during the coming session in May and it will outline the government’s programmes and policy shifts for the next five years.

In line with the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), the 11MP could also include nuclear power plants (NPPs) becoming a reality in Malaysia.

In fact, NPPs are far from just being an idea. Since the Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation (MNPC) was established in 2011, various in-door discussions have taken place.

A week ago, Rosatom, a Russian state atomic energy corporation, publicly stated that it will be in the running to bid for Malaysia’s first NPP.

Housed in Moscow, Rosatom is one of the biggest players in the nuclear industry and it offers a ‘Build-Own-Operate’ package that governments find hard to refuse.

Jordan and Vietnam are the latest to have been swayed, with both signing deals in earlier this year to set up their first power plants respectively.

And Malaysia is now a target and will be utilised as the door for nuclear power developers to enter Asean.

The World Nuclear Symposium at a meeting in Quebec, Canada, last week called for a worldwide ban on uranium mining.

And the participants also went further to demand that states phase out and eliminate the use of nuclear power for energy generation because there are alternatives.

Use sustainable energy resources instead

The World Nuclear Symposium demanded that all states, authorities and peoples phase out and eliminate nuclear power generation and use, and instead dedicate themselves to the development  and use of intelligent energy services based on sustainable, safe and renewable energy resources.

We, Anak Malaysia Anti Nuklear (Aman), support this call, which was headed by a group of experts throughout the globe who are advocating for a nuclear-free environment.

Among the many reasons for opposing NPPs, we also recognise that:

•    Nuclear power is not a cost-effective, timely, practical or a safe response to climate change;

•    Unique health, environmental and social dangers are present at all stages of the nuclear chain, from the exploration, mining and milling of uranium to the generation of nuclear  power;

•    The  risk  of  contamination resulting from the extraction, use and storage of radioactive substances presents a unique and grave threat to all living creatures, their environments and watersheds, transcending all political and geographic boundaries and enduring for eons to come;

•    There are stores of radioactive wastes throughout the world that have not been effectively isolated;

•    Compelling scientific evidence exists that there is no safe dose of exposure to radioactive  emissions, and that even small doses can present health risks to miners and local populations, animals and plant life; and

•    Technological development of nuclear energy opens the doors to the development of  nuclear weapons, against which there is no effective protection, and that nuclear power generation facilities present a serious threat in and of themselves. 

Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister when Fukushima was struck, had this to say: “Prior to Fukushima, I believed that such a severe accident would not happen in Japan. I continued nuclear power under this belief. When Fukushima was hit, I clearly knew that my beliefs, until then, had been completely wrong.”

NPPs a ‘clear and present danger’

It is unarguable then that NPPs are a clear and present danger to any environment that houses them.

Instead, we urge the Malaysian government to heed the call by the World Nuclear Symposium that there is a urgent need to explore intelligent and safe renewable energy resources for a more sustainable and democratised energy development.

Such a move will also come as a benefit to the people of Malaysia as they will take ownership of energy generation and also result in a positive effect on lowering energy costs. This will come as a vital boost in light of the incredible cost of living Malaysians are having to face.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must also prove that he is taking the threat of NPPs seriously, as has been done in the more developed and forward-minded nations.

As such, Aman echoes the call for Malaysia’s NPPs to be stopped immediately, stripped out of the current ETP and not be part of the 11th Malaysia Plan. Malaysia, as the chair of Asean for 2015, must spearhead the plan for an Asean Zone that is free of all nuclear energy.

ABDUL HADI KHALID is secretary-general of Anak Malaysia Anti Nuklear (Aman).