DAP state assemblyperson for Kidurong (Bintulu) Chiew Chin Sing has urged the government to say no to the proposed multi-billion-ringgit aluminium smelter plant proposed for Similajau in Sarawak.

Debating the 2008 state budget in the state legislative assembly on Thursday, Chiew said environmentally-friendly and safe industries should instead be considered in Bintulu to absorb the power from Bakun Hydro Dam and other proposed hydro dams in northern Sarawak.

He said there were widespread concerns about the possible environmental impact, especially the long-term effects on the people's health in that part of Sarawak.

"As it is today, the air quality in Bintulu is already very bad. The air pollution from the open furnaces burning at the Kemena Industrial Estate, especially at night, and perks of ammonia smell from the ABF (ammonia fertilizer) plant at the Kidurong and Tg Batu area, Bintulu is having the highest case of upper respiratory illness in the whole country," he said.

The authorities must be transparent and let people know the daily air quality level in Bintulu, so that they would know what's going on.

Chiew said he failed to understand how an aluminum smelter could be sited in the middle of Similajau.

"We live on an island and if the plant is sited at a corner of the island facing three sides of the ocean I am sure much of the pollution would then be blown away into the direction of the oceanic skies.

"If we were living in a continent where we have vast land then building the plant inland would be a different matter," he said.

It's about lives

The Bakun Hydro Dam, when operational in 2010, will supply cheap energy and this would be a plus factor in attracting many other types of industries apart from the aluminum smelter.

"Shouldn't we have more choices and other alternatives besides the aluminum smelter that will bring us the equivalent or better economic returns and social goods?"

Chiew said the government should be careful and prudent in making the decision, and what is decided must reflect public concern, because it is too important a decision as the result will have serious impact and consequences on the environment and lives of the people in the central Sarawak region for generations and generations to come.

Describing this as an issue related to moral rather than politics, the opposition politician said it concerned people's lives.

"It is not a question of Left verses Right; it is a question of right verses wrong. Put simply, it is wrong to build a plant that will ruin the prospects of every generation that follows ours."

He said aluminium smelter plants are not even encouraged by those countries that have been attracted to invest in Sarawak.

"So why should these deadly pollutants be allowed in our skies when those developed countries don't want it?" he asked