Resign for failing to tackle environmental issues, Yeo told

A former Penang Umno assemblyperson has called for the resignation of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin for her alleged failure to address environmental issues.

Former Pulau Betong assemblyperson Muhammad Farid Saad said the current haze crisis and the earlier Sungai Kim Kim episodes have proven that Yeo is unable to discharge her duties well.

Farid accused Yeo of allegedly "feeding the greed of the corporate sector".

"We strongly call for the resignation of Yeo as she has failed to discharge her duties, while her alleged close links with a business entity (IOI Group) in the current haze tragedy raises questions, " Farid told Malaysiakini.

Yeo recently married Lee Yeow Seng, the CEO of IOI Properties Group.

In July, Pasir Gudang was hit by a wave of cases involving breathing difficulties, which prompted Yeo to say that there would be no more approvals for applications to build chemical plants.

Last week, the Indonesian government named four palm oil companies with Malaysian links as the culprits behind several forest fires in the country, including IOI Corporation and Sime Darby Plantation.

The ongoing haze attack has led to 2,646 schools nationwide to be closed today affecting some 1,715,274 students.

Farid said this is not the first time that Yeo failed as the minister in charge of the environment.

He added that the country needs a "stronger figure who has no direct affiliation with the corporate world" to be able to act justly in office.

"Her close affiliation with the IOI Group will always make citizens, the business sector and investors question her integrity in decision-making, as her decisions as a minister will always be shrouded with suspicions," Farid said.

"We fear that she might not be advising the cabinet correctly due to alleged favouritism," he added.

Meanwhile, social activist K Sudhagaran Stanley (photo) called for an emergency Parliament session on how to deal with such "corporate terrorism".

"The haze situation in Malaysia is worsening, while the government has had the last two weeks to address the matter but sadly, till today, the problem is getting more serious," Stanley said.

"This is a yearly problem that the Malaysian government seems to be taking lightly.

"If they had taken it seriously, this problem would have been addressed years ago," he added.

Stanley also proposed that Parliament passes an emergency law to deal with what he described as a "national threat".

He said the law should, among others, allow the seizing of assets belonging to Malaysian companies involved in the fires, shutting down their business and sending the directors to prison for a long term.

"The government should also issue arrest warrants for all the other directors of the non-Malaysian companies involved in the fires and request Indonesia to send them here to face trial.

"This is an attack on our country and rights," he said.

"This is corporate terrorism. They rape the environment and put millions of lives at risk to benefit their pockets. Their actions are also killing the many animals in the forests."

The Malaysian government should also come down hard on the Indonesian government as it has failed to prevent the fires, Stanley said.

This could be due to "corruption and bad governance" on the Indonesian side, he added.

"We need to send them a strong message. Let's stop talking and sending letters but start to take actions!"

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