Archive for category environment
‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Energy, environment, Financial Scandals, Sarawak on Thursday, 27 October 2011
by M Jegathesan, AFP | October 27, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
BAKUN DAM: The first turbine is spinning, electricity is pulsing out, and the water level is climbing in the Borneo jungle behind Malaysia’s huge US$2.2 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam.
But questions continue to swirl around the viability of a project described by critics as a graft-plagued human and ecological disaster – and as opposition mounts against a dozen other planned dams in Sarawak.
The first turbine from French giant Alstom began producing electricity in August and the dam’s reservoir has swelled to the size of Singapore since impoundment began a year ago.
After years of warnings about the impact on Sarawak’s pristine jungles and the forced removal of thousands of local tribespeople, the dam’s head Zulkifle Osman sees light at the end of the tunnel.
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Let’s debate: Rahman
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Thursday, 7 July 2011
Daily Express | 6 July 2011
Kota Kinabalu: Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan on Tuesday challenged DAP Advisor Lim Kit Siang to an open debate regarding the proposed Tambatuon Dam.
Expressing disappointment with the Ipoh Timur MP, he said the latter has been continuously instigating the people of Kg Tambatuon with misleading facts about the issue.
“His intention is very clear which is to score political gains at the expense of national interest (food security), long term benefit to the thousands of poor farmers and solution to the drinking water supply and flood mitigation of the people of Kota Belud,” he said in a statement.
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Design problems, hazardous construction plague Lynas plant, reports NYT
Posted by Kit in environment, Lynas on Thursday, 30 June 2011
The Malaysian Insider | June 30, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The controversial Lynas rare earths refinery in Kuantan is plagued by environmentally hazardous construction and design problems, the New York Times has reported, citing internal memos and current and former engineers on the project.
The report published today said the issues, including moisture in humid Malaysia, could potentially affect the RM700 million Lynas Corp plant being built to challenge China’s stranglehold in the key rare earths industry.
Malaysia is due to announce today the results of an independent international review of the plant that is scheduled to open this September. The listed Lynas Corp has asked for a halt in its share trading in Australia today pending the report.
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Tambatuon folk fear Bakun fate
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Saturday, 25 June 2011
By Michael Kaung
June 24, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
PENAMPANG: The villagers of Tambatuon are anxious to avoid the heartbreak that the people of Bakun suffer, according to testimony before Suhakam commissioners who are conducting a study on Native Customary Land Rights (NCR) issues.
Jahim Singkui, who heads the Tambatuon Villagers’ Action Committee, told the commissioners today that the government had ignored pleas against its plan to build a RM450 million dam in the village, which is in the Kota Belud district.
The project would submerge ancestral lands, he said. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve made a big mistake, says Lynas boss
Posted by Kit in environment, Health, Lynas on Thursday, 23 June 2011
Malaysiakini | Jun 23, 11
Lynas boss Nicholas Curtis has conceded that his company made the mistake of failing to adequately engage the community in Kuantan over fears of radioactive waste from its controversial rare earth plant.
“We made a mistake, and it was a big mistake, of thinking that because we have met the (Malaysian) standards (of safety), that it was enough. It was not enough. Our obligation is to continue to engage the community in Kuantan.”
The Lynas chief’s mea culpa came after the emergence of stringent opposition to the plant, which is being built in Gebeng Industrial Estate, about 50km from Kuantan. The RM700 million plant will be completed by the end of September.
“I respect that emotions have (become) very high, but these are emotions, not facts,” said Curtis. The detractors of the project, he said, are “pushing emotional stories for political gains”.
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Through my aging eyes: We are at the mercy of Nature
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Thursday, 23 June 2011
By Edwin Bosi
When I visited Tambatuon village in Kadamaian Kota Belud in April 2011 with YB Jimmy Wong and DAP Sabah political leaders it was actually partly a fact-finding mission. We heard so much of Tambatuon through the news media, their fight for survival against a proposed dam that will in the word of Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, BN Member of Parliament for Kota Belud, obliterate them from the map of Sabah. Our casual visit, meeting and walking around the village gave us a feeling that the villagers were genuinely not in favor of the dam at all cost. It is not only showing in their faces but also their environment. They have built a beautiful yet simple and decent life in Tambatuon which they call home.
Sdr Lim Kit Siang took time on 28 May 2011 to visit and meet up with the ex-village chief Singkui Tinggi and other community leaders. He too was convinced of the peoples’ stance against the dam. When the plea of the villagers touched the very heart of Sdr Kit Siang, it does not take long for him to commence the battle for and to save Tambatuon, via the Twitter world. Sadly on that night, Kit Siang soon found out that there is no internet coverage in Tambatuon so the “Twitter war” has to be conducted in Kota Kinabalu.
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Tikus Makmal in a Natural Experiment?
Posted by Kit in environment, Health on Monday, 20 June 2011
By Chan Chee Khoon, ScD (Epidemiology)
On June 7, 2011, in a live interview with CNN, Arnie Gundersen, a licensed nuclear power engineer with 39 years experience in managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants in the US, noted that with the prevailing wind patterns after the Fukushima disaster’s radioactive discharges, air filter monitors in Seattle detected about half the level of “hot” (radioactive) suspended fine particulates as were detected in the air over Tokyo, 7700 km away.
Gundersen didn’t clarify what the baseline level of airborne radioactive particulates in Seattle was, pre-Fukushima, but if the measured levels in April 2011 were indeed largely blown over from Fukushima, it’s very sobering considering that Kuantan and Kemaman are within a 28 km radius of the Lynas rare earths refinery being built at Gebeng, which will be handling rare earth concentrates ground and milled into a fine powder for acid extraction at the plant.
The ARE experience from Bukit Merah in the 1980s tells us that beyond the dust-generating cracking, grinding and milling operations, powdery thorium cake waste was also spilling onto roads during transportation, during packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, and children were frequently playing in the vicinity of exposed mounds of the waste. Indeed, the thorium waste was reportedly offered to local farmers as fertiliser.
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For anti-Lynas residents, the time for talking is over
Posted by Kit in environment, Lynas on Saturday, 18 June 2011
By Shannon Teoh
June 18, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUANTAN, June 18 — After being bullied from making their stand before an international panel of experts earlier this month, residents opposed to a RM700 million rare earth plant have closed the door to the government.
Accusing the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration of making “a pathetic” show of engaging stakeholders, the Save Malaysia group spearheading the local movement against the project told The Malaysian Insider that it will focus on building public sentiment against the plant.
“The only way to get the government to act is with votes. So we will increase public pressure to indirectly force the government to act. No more direct engagement,” said chairman Tan Bun Teet. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Tambatuon dam is unnecessary’
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Tuesday, 14 June 2011
By Stephanie Sta Maria | June 14, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: An academic from the Faculty of Agriculture in Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) cast doubt on the necessity for the proposed Tambatuon dam in Kota Belud.
According to Christopher Teh, the dam is not the sole means to increasing Malaysia’s rice productivity as there was still plenty of room to increase the yields of existing paddy fields.
“Each field has a maximum potential yield of 10 tonnes per hectare but the current national average only stands at 4 tonnes per hectare per year,” he said.
“I’m not against increasing land acreage but between that and increasing the yields, the latter is a better choice. Let’s use what we already have instead of opening up new paddy fields and incurring higher costs.”
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“Yield Considerations” – Iskandar replies to Kota Belud MP Rahman on Tambatuon Dam controversy
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Yb Rahman,
I had opined that our existing acerage in Malaysia can be used to fully meet our rice security consideration (i.e to overcome the 35% shortage) provided our Yield (Mt/hectare) can be increased to 5.0. The 5.0 yield factor is backed by research materials that you had referenced in your report.
In your rebuttal to my June 4, 2011 feedback, you have clearly acknowledged this point albeit you put it as “I wish it was that simple. Here is the reason”.
You said the current yield average of 3.3mt per hectare is for the whole country and production yield differs based on location. In summary, you had alluded to point out that production locations in Peninsular Malaysia(PM) are already yielding at 5.0 or higher and has little room for additional yield. The national average, however, drops to 3.3 due to the low yeilds in East Malaysia(EM) and Kota Belud being one. I quote “However, our national paddy production yield average has been dragged down by low yield areas namely in Sabah and Sarawak!”
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Poem for World Environment Day 2011
Posted by Kit in environment on Tuesday, 14 June 2011
by Dr Zorina Khalid
12 June 2011
CONSIDERATION FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT,
WHY BOTHER, NOT MY CONCERN….
The ills of society
I’ve noticed it’s aplenty
People are selfish and not considerate
They just live life on a rampage
With not a bother or a thought
Did you not notice that?
Look at what’s happening to our country
Water use to glory
(Malaysia is tops in Asia for this)
Electricity wastage without feeling guilty
Because, I can afford to pay the utility. Read the rest of this entry »
Twitter Power – Tambatuon dam controversy – Why MP Kota Belud never visited kampong? (5)
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah, Twitter on Friday, 10 June 2011
Twitter sequel Part 5
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
dredwinbosi Jun 07, 12:33am
@mpkotabelud @limkitsiang Food security should not be an issue if we don’t have a surge in pop of legalised illegal immigrants.
dredwinbosi Jun 07, 9:00am
@mpkotabelud @limkitsiang@junzwong Tambatuon is already a natural tourism attraction, no need a man-made lake.
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RM450m Tambatuon dam controversy – Why MP Kota Belud never visited kampong? (4)
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Sunday, 5 June 2011
Twitter sequel Part 4
Iskandarbak Jun 04, 8:42pm
@mpkotabelud u back from Spore? hoping to get ur response on my feedback to ur post in ur blog re: dam in Kg T
Iskandarbak Jun 04, 8:46pm
@mpkotabelud I just checkd ur blog. U have updated it with d translation. But, i dont see my feedback comments there. I had also emailed u.
mpkotabelud Jun 04, 8:47pm
I got ur reply. On the move now. Tak dak masa utk think. Soon will reply. RT @Iskandarbak:
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Consideration for the Construction of Dam in Kota Belud
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Saturday, 4 June 2011
By Iskandar Basha Abdul Kadir
4 June 2011
Dear Yb Rahman,
Thank you for writing about the Jelapang Padi Initiative in your blog.
The key objective and the Complimentary/Spin-Off objectives that you have stated in your blog are as follows:
Key Objective
To become self sufficient in rice production for national security. This includes price control and distribution within Malaysia.
Complimentary/Spin-off Objectives
Flood control n mitigation, hydro power, clean water for consumption, tourism, multiplier effects, jobs, etc Read the rest of this entry »
RM450m Tambatuon dam controversy – Why MP Kota Belud never visited kampong? (3)
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Friday, 3 June 2011
Twitter sequel Part 3
Part 1 & Part 2
limkitsiang Jun 02, 6:07pm
YB where is yr blog 2champion RM450m Tambatuon dam? >24 hrs oredi. Cld not even convince yrself after reading it in cold print? @mpkotabelud
mpkotabelud Jun 02, 8:27pm
My rebuttal of @limkitsiang >>> http://mpkotabelud.blogspot.com/2011/06/to-dam-or-to-be-damned-question-to-lim.html
mpkotabelud Jun 02, 8:31pm
Read http://bit.ly/k1akKq RT @limkitsiang: where is yr blog 2champion RM450m Tambatuon dam?
Read the rest of this entry »
Our health and lives in exchange for FDIs
Posted by Kit in Economics, environment, Health on Thursday, 2 June 2011
Malaysiakini Your Say | Jun 2, 11
‘We sometimes marvel at how parents in some Asean countries are willing to sell their daughters into prostitution in return for a few dollars. Now we know.’
Panel: Waste won’t be 100% radiation-free
Swipenter: “It is not easy to do a study on the impact of health from a rare earth plant as it requires a large number of samples and a long duration of study to demonstrate statistically significant results.”
The rare plant in Bukit Merah is not proof or good enough to show the negative effects on health on a long-term basis? This panel is just a eyewash – they cannot even name one safe rare earth plant anywhere in the world.
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Bigger landslide in the making
Posted by Kit in environment, Good Governance, Selangor on Thursday, 2 June 2011
Stephanie Sta Maria | May 30, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The situation in Bukit Antarabangsa is serious as the slope failures or shallow landslides are indications of an impending bigger landslide.
KUALA LUMPUR: Double landslides occurred side by side in Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Kelang, Selangor, 10 days ago but escaped public attention for both struck on the same day as the Hulu Langat tragedy.
As rescue personnel and the media rushed to the Madrasah Al-Taqwa Orphanage, business owners and employees watched mounds of wet earth sliding down the slope behind their commercial centre in Taman Ukay Perdana.
Unlike Hulu Langat, however, no property damages or injuries took place in the Bukit Antarabangsa incident.
The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) moved swiftly in dispatching a team from its hillslope division to begin immediate work in containing the situation and repairing the slope.
MPAJ is currently the only authority with an existing hillslope division which was formed after the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, which claimed five lives. Read the rest of this entry »
Panel: Waste won’t be 100% radiation-free
Posted by Kit in environment on Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Malaysiakini | Jun 1, 11
The international expert panel reviewing the controversial Lynas rare earth plant has conceded that the waste produced from the plant cannot be 100 percent radiation-free.
Based on Malaysian Medical Association’s (MMA) notes of the panel’s hearing yesterday, a panelist said that it was “very unlikely” to achieve zero thorium or uranium – both radioactive elements – in the waste produced.
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Pro-Lynas thugs too have police ‘protection’
Posted by Kit in environment, Police on Wednesday, 1 June 2011
‘Only in Malaysia can violent gatecrashers forcibly end a peaceful protest even under the watchful eyes of the police.’
Uninvited guests crash anti-Lynas protest
Swipenter: “We are from Kuantan, this is the Malay land!” said a man who identified himself as Azman Attar.
Read the rest of this entry »
Of forest spirits and conservation
Posted by Kit in environment on Friday, 27 May 2011
By June Rubis | May 27, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 27 — The problem with conservation work is this: when you have finally done a right, it feels like a wrong.
I had only been based in central Kalimantan for less than a year, when the first major controversy of the conservation project that I was managing erupted.
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