DAP MP: Not worth putting lives at risk for rare earth money

It is not worth putting people's lives in danger for the money-making venture of rare earth mining, says DAP's Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar.

"It is not just a money-making thing, it shouldn't be just that.

"(If they) want to make money, but at the end of the day, they put people's lives in danger. We do not want that," Sivakumar (above) told Malaysiakini in the Parliament lobby yesterday.

He brought up the Asian Rare Earth disaster back in the 1980s, which resulted in serious radioactive poisoning of the Bukit Merah community.

Asian Rare Earth was a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemicals, which shut down the factory in 1992 as it embarked on a clean-up following radioactive leaks. It also provided compensation for residents, but without accepting liability for incidents of cancer in the area.

Sivakumar said the incident in Bukit Merah is still fresh in people's memories.

"A lot of people still talk about Bukit Merah. The fear is still there and in fact, some people believe there are still side effects from that plant.

"Now, we do not want another second episode," he said.

Therefore, Sivakumar urged the Perak state government to be transparent on the memorandum of understanding it signed with a China firm, on Nov 16, to explore rare earth mining in Perak.

Meanwhile, Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Woh (below) said Perak DAP is very much concerned about the rare earth issue in the state, especially in light of the Bukit Merah incident.

"We urge the state government to clarify the nature of the memorandum, where is it going to be, what are they going to do, what are the impacts on the environment and to the people.

"I would also like to urge the state government to interfere and review the decision made by Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) in entering into this memorandum of understanding," he said.

Wong pointed to the Lynas rare earth plant in Pahang, which has courted controversy.

"We do not want history to repeat and I think it is the view of the majority of people in Perak to say no to any rare earth plant or rare earth mining to be done in their state," Wong said.

The Perak government's MBI has said it is mindful about the radioactive disaster in Bukit Merah.

"We do not want a repeat of past incidents. We understand about the Bukit Merah incident in the past, which is why we are working closely with the agencies mentioned to avoid such incidents.

"But this does not mean we can't explore and see it as a potential income source for the state government. But we are very cautious," Perak MBI chief executive officer Anuar Zainal Abidin had said.

Yesterday, environmental NGO Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) criticised the Perak government, stating it had not learnt from the Bukit Merah incident.

The Water, Land and Natural Resouces Ministry on Nov 16 announced that it had witnessed the signing of a memorandum between MBI and Chinalco GXNF Rare Earth Development Co Ltd to "systematically explore rare earth elements" in Perak.

This despite the controversy surrounding the Lynas rare earth processing plant in Pahang. The Harapan government has faced brickbats over its refusal to close down the Lynas plant.

While the facility's closure was not included in Harapan's manifesto, several of its key leaders had pledged to shut down the plant if the coalition captured Putrajaya, which it did in May last year.

Perak MBI says mindful of past disaster, only exploring rare earth mining

Perak rare earth exploration not the same as Lynas - Harapan MP

Perak, Putrajaya acting irresponsibly on rare earth deal with China company - NGO

Closing Lynas not in manifesto, stop raising it - Redzuan tells Harapan