Archive for category environment
MMA concerned Lynas plant will wreak harm
Posted by Kit in environment, Health on Thursday, 26 May 2011
By Yow Hong Chieh | May 26, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) stepped into the controversy today over Australian miner Lynas’ rare earth plant near Kuantan, expressing “grave concern” that waste products could wreak harm on those living nearby.
The association, representing the country’s 13,000 doctors, stressed that the possible health risks presented by radiation from “extremely toxic” thorium outweighed the economic benefits from the project.
Read the rest of this entry »
Economists sceptical of Lynas plant multiplier effect
Posted by Kit in environment on Wednesday, 25 May 2011
By Yow Hong Chieh | May 25, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Economists doubt Lynas Corp’s claim that its Kuantan rare earth plant will have a tenfold multiplier effect as its regional economy impact is limited.
Pahang welcomes the RM700 million refinery which the Australian mining giant said earlier this month will create an annual RM4 billion multiplier effect and turn the Gebeng industrial zone into the centre of a “rare earth ecosystem”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Lynas says paid Putrajaya for toxic waste cover
Posted by Kit in environment, Lynas on Saturday, 21 May 2011
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
May 21, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Lynas Corp has revealed it deposited money with Putrajaya as an indemnity for potentially dangerous residue that may result from processing its radioactive rare earths in its Pahang plant, which is now under review.
However, Lynas did not elaborate on the deposit. It also did not disclose the sum paid to the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) under the purview of the science, technology and innovation ministry in charge of approving and monitoring radioactive industries.
“Lynas has also agreed to place funds with the Malaysian government to ensure safe management of any remaining residues as required by the AELB,” the Australian miner told The Malaysian Insider in a statement.
But AELB’s director-general Datuk Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan denied his agency had made the deposit a requirement. Read the rest of this entry »
Lynas Review Panel must be reformed
Posted by Kit in environment on Friday, 20 May 2011
SM Mohamed Idris
The Malaysian Insider
May 18, 2011
MAY 18 — On 14 May, the Minister for the International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohammed announced the independent panel to review the proposed Lynas rare earth processing plant in Gebeng, Pahang.
Since the review involves environmental and public health and radiation safety issues, concerning a hazardous facility, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the MITI.
We are thus puzzled why MITI was charged with announcing the review panel members, bearing in mind that a preliminary environmental impact assessment was submitted to the Department of Environment (DoE) in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2008.
We are also puzzled as to why an independent Malaysian authority was not responsible for the appointments of each of the nine members of the review panel. A more suitable and impartial body like the DoE should have helmed the selection process instead of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board which as it turns out, delegated the entire responsibility to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA’s main interest is to promote nuclear energy and its related activities worldwide. Whereas the DoE was set up to protect the environment and promote environmentally sustainable activities. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Leaving behind a toxic legacy for decades’
Posted by Kit in environment on Thursday, 19 May 2011
By G Vinod | May 19, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: Two Australian environmental groups believe that the Lynas rare earth mine in Kuantan would leave a toxic legacy for decades.
The environmental groups – Friends of the Earth Australia and the Conservation Council of Western Australia – said that by not revealing the data before embarking on the project in Kuantan, company has something to hide.
The groups in a joint statement said they want the Kuantan project stopped until the company reveals its environmental assessment data of the site.
Read the rest of this entry »
Cops release Bidayuh villagers suspected of arson
Posted by Kit in environment, Sarawak on Wednesday, 18 May 2011
By Keruah Usit | May 18, 11
Malaysiakini
Five Bidayuh defenders of Native Customary Rights (NCR) to land were released today after being initially suspected of committing arson at a logging camp in Tebedu, Sarawak.
The camp is owned by Alliance Bahagia, a logging contractor employed by the state-run Sarawak Foundation.
Papai Anak Atin, Barak Anak Kolol and Mani Anak Marin of Kampung Temang Mura, Karia Anak Daruh of Kampung Patah and Peter Anak Laiong of Kampung Mawang were arrested in Tebedu last Friday and taken to Kuching, around 90 minutes’ drive away.
Read the rest of this entry »
Meltdown may have occurred also at Nos. 2, 3 reactors
Posted by Kit in Energy, environment on Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Japan Today
Tuesday 17th May
TOKYO — An adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Monday that the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had failed to inject water into the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors for more than six hours after the March 11 massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami.
Goshi Hosono, tasked with handling the nuclear crisis, said at a press conference that Tokyo Electric Power Co had not been able to cool down the reactors’ cores due to loss of external power for a long time after the quake, acknowledging that fuel in the vessels might have largely melted ‘‘in the worst-case scenario.’‘
But he added TEPCO has been succeeding in preventing the reactor’s fuel from overheating so far and reiterated the government will stick to the timetable set by the firm, which announced April 17 it aims to bring the crisis there under control in six to nine months.
His remarks came a day after TEPCO said a nuclear fuel meltdown at the No. 1 reactor is believed to have occurred around 16 hours after the devastating quake and tsunami crippled the plant’s critical cooling systems.
TEPCO is slated to release on Tuesday an updated roadmap for bringing under control Japan’s worst nuclear accident based on new information about the plant’s condition. Read the rest of this entry »
10 Days in May (10)
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, environment, Islam on Sunday, 15 May 2011
Tweets @limkitsiang:-
Kuantan Police cynosure. Is Lynas already exercising Xtraordinary influence over Kuantan Police? Contd subversion of national institutions?
Internet-savvy IGP, r u following this? Shd apologise n tel/stop Kuantan police from its folly b4 Police become world laughing stock.
Hisham will have 2explain Parliament wh Police have new SOP 2get urine test from all arrested, rationale – recipe 4PDRM become world-class?
Hisham – in national interest, wld Police arrest IbrahimAli n demand urine test 2stop lies n seditious race/religious baiting?
Hisham – can explain Y police so tough overbearing w loyal peaceloving defenders environment? @LeeChinChen they want us to do urine test!
If DAP/Christian rep had said 10% what Ibrahim did, ISA/worst laws wld have been thrown at him.Hisham – Y so soft now? Read the rest of this entry »
Police detain four DAP members in anti-Lynas protest
Posted by Kit in DAP, environment on Sunday, 15 May 2011
By Clara Chooi
May 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUANTAN, May 15 — Police arrested four DAP members here this morning for holding a demonstration to protest the Lynas Corp rare earths refinery in Gebeng.
DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief Anthony Loke (file picture), who was present at the time, told The Malaysian Insider that the police moved in to arrest the four just as the event on was nearing its tail end.
He explained that the programme had began with the opening of the Kuantan DAP service centre on Jalan Beserah at 10am this morning before moving on to a short demonstration.
“It was just a small one… three of us gave speeches, (Triang assemblyman) Leong Ngah Ngah, (PKR’s Indera Mahkota MP) Azan Ismail and then me. Read the rest of this entry »
Four arrested at anti-Lynas protest
Posted by Kit in DAP, environment, General on Sunday, 15 May 2011
By S Pathmawathy
May 15, 11 | Malaysiakini
At least four people were arrested in Kuantan, Pahang today during at a rally organised by the anti-Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) movement.
The protestors had gathered in front of DAP’s service centre in the state capital at about 11.30am.
Barely 10 minutes into the demonstration, the police had moved in.
DAP Pahang publicity secretary Chow Yu Hui and organising secretary Lee Chin Chen as well as Khor Huey Ying and Thing Siew Shuen, from the DAP’s headquarters were arrested. Read the rest of this entry »
Time to make a stand, Malaysians
Posted by Kit in environment, Religion on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Mustafa Sharif | May 12, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
One common feature of us Malaysians is our ability to stomach so much nonsense and then don’t do anything to make a change.
We are lied to on a daily basis by politicians, bureaucrats and the media but still shrug our shoulders and get on with our lives. The strange part of this is that if our wife, children or siblings fudge the truth, we chew their heads off and threaten Armageddon.
And yet, arguably, it is the daily deception by politicians, bureaucrats and the media which impacts our life greatly. Let me just list a few examples of these lies and deceptions.
1) The great Lynas scam. If not for the role played by Internet portals, the Lynas rare earth project would have flown under the radar. Federal politicians and Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob knew about the toxic nature of the project but FDI is more important than TMR (the mortality rate). When the firestorm about the project could not be contained, the newsletters@newspapers suddenly discovered the issue. More like, they could not bury it. It is crazy man. Hundreds or thousands of lives could be at stake and government politicians and their newspapers are either ignorant or part of a deception.
Read the rest of this entry »
Bidayuh villagers burn timber camp
Posted by Kit in environment, Sarawak on Wednesday, 11 May 2011
By Keruah Usit
May 11, 2011
Malaysiakini
ANTIDOTE Natives from 10 villages in Tebedu, Sarawak, are said to have torched dormitories, bulldozers, tractors and other machinery at a timber camp on May 9.
The Bidayuh villagers had been blockading the timber access road of logging contractor Alliance Bahagia to defend their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.
According to witnesses, nobody was injured in the arson attack. Police arrived at the scene in Tebedu, about 90 minutes’ drive from Kuching, in time to see the equipment and buildings aflame.
Police were far outnumbered by “emotional” villagers and did not make any arrest.
Read the rest of this entry »
Western Australia said no to Lynas, Pahang Bar reveals
Posted by Kit in environment on Tuesday, 10 May 2011
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2011
KUANTAN, May 10 — The Pahang Bar revealed today a Western Australian local council had “vigorously” opposed Lynas Corp building a rare earth refinery in its home state as the main reason for the Australian miner to ship its ore some 3,000km to Malaysia to be processed.
State Bar chief Hon Kai Ping said his team of lawyers had unearthed the minutes of the meeting of the Council of the Shire of Northam dating back to November 23, 2005 which recorded the local government “vigorously opposes the siting of a hazardous waste disposal and treatment plant at the Avon Industrial Park (in Meenar) based on the negative perceptions that the location will cause to Grass Valley, the Town of Northam and the Avon region.”
The document, Hon added, stated among other things: “The Town of Northam, along with other Councils in the Avon Valley, has been promoting the Valley as a clean and green tourism and lifestyle experience. Having a hazardous waste site on the Town’s doorstep would undo a lot of the work that has been undertaken by Council…” Read the rest of this entry »
As Lynas plant looms, man begs PM for kids’ future
Posted by Kit in environment, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 30 March 2011
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — A Kuantan man made an impassioned plea today for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to halt the construction of a controversial rare earths refinery near his home town, after an attempt to protest the project was snubbed earlier by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Earlier today, about 100 residents from Kuantan had gathered at the entrance of Parliament to voice out against Australian mining firm Lynas’s plans to build the new plant in Gebeng.
“We don’t want another Bukit Merah incident. We just want to make an appeal to PM. I know you (Najib) are watching, but this is what the citizens want,” implored Vincent Jiam Tee Hoong, the chairman of the residents’ movement.
Bukit Merah in Perak was the site of rare earth plant operated by Mitsubishi Chemicals, which has been blamed for an increase in the incidence of leukaemia in workers and nearby residents.
Read the rest of this entry »
Speedy action by Malaysian Government in evacuating Malaysians in Japan needed
Posted by Kit in environment, Foreign on Friday, 18 March 2011
In view of the worsening nuclear crisis situation in Japan, the Malaysian government should take proactive steps in ensuring the safety of Malaysians in Japan.
The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, said today that the situation does not warrant an immediate evacuation of Malaysians living there, as readings taken in Tokyo, Miyagi and Ibaraki yesterday afternoon averaged about 0.17uSv/hr (microsieverts per hour), which was lower than the maximum allowed radiation dosage of 0.5uSv/hr for the Malaysian public.
In contrast to the minister’s calm response, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the overall situation was “very serious” though did not appear to be deteriorating. The chief US nuclear regulatory official said radiation levels around the fuel ponds were extremely high and “potentially lethal” near the reactors. Explaining the decision to deploy helicopters on Thursday, Toshimi Kitazawa, the defence minister, said conditions at the reactors had reached a critical point.
IAEA also reported that in some locations at around 30 km from the Fukushima plant, the dose rates rose significantly in the last 24 hours (in one location from 80 to 170 microsievert per hour and in another from 26 to 95 microsievert per hour). Dose rates to the north-west of the nuclear power plants, were observed in the range 3 to 170 microsievert per hour. Dose rates in other directions are in the 1 to 5 microsievert per hour range.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia should learn the lessons from the Japan Nuclear Catastrophe
Posted by Kit in Energy, environment, Foreign on Thursday, 17 March 2011
The last six days has been the hardest moments for Japan as a nation as they are faced with an earthquake of a magnitude of 9.0, followed by the nuclear explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plants with a radiation contamination threat.
Malaysians extend their greatest sympathies to Japan for the earthquake that has struck in such unexpected fashion. Indeed, the people of Japan had shown great courage in face of the national tribulation which has been described as the worst disaster of the nation after World War II.
The incident had revealed the inconvenient truth for the proponent of nuclear power that it is a high-risk gamble. Officials in Japan have said that the nuclear reactor was built to withstand disasters. Yet the accident which occurred has caused such detrimental result.
Read the rest of this entry »
Japan steps closer to a full-blown nuclear catastrophe
Posted by Kit in Energy, environment, Japan on Tuesday, 15 March 2011
By Steven Mufson
The Washington Post
Monday, March 14, 11
Japan stepped closer to a full blown nuclear catastrophe Tuesday after the third explosion in four days appeared to have damaged equipment inside the reactor, apparently creating a path for the escape of radioactive materials, and a fire broke out at a separate reactor where spent fuel and hydrogen ignited. Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner of the seaside nuclear complex, ordered the evacuation of all but the 50 most essential workers and the Japanese Prime Minister addressed the nation urging people within 19 miles to stay indoors and remain calm.
Officials from Tokyo Electric Power, the plant owner, said the 6:14 a.m. explosion took place in the unit 2 reactor at or near the suppression pool, which collects water and radioactive elements from the containment vessel.
Experts said that, unlike the two previous explosions that destroyed outer buildings, this one might have damaged valves and drain pipes, possibly creating a path for radioactive materials to escape.
The explosion — more serious than the earlier blasts — was followed by a brief drop in pressure in the vessel and a spike in radioactivity outside the reactor to levels more than eight times what people ordinarily receive in a year, the company said. Tokyo Electric, which over the weekend said it had 1,400 people working at the complex, said it was evacuating all nonessential personnel, leaving about 50 people there. Read the rest of this entry »
Dying in two different ways
Posted by Kit in environment, Foreign on Monday, 28 February 2011
by Goh Keat Peng
In the news this week, we are numbed by reports of the death of hundreds of human beings not unlike ourselves. Some of these our fellow human beings were going about quietly in their everyday life in a city that is not only beautiful in myriads of ways but also ordinary like many other cities of the world. At 12.51 pm on February 21, 2011 an earthquake struck and to date, 147 have being confirmed dead, with still 200 people missing.
What do we, can we, say? For all these many years, that city like so many others in the human world was functioning normally with few if any extraordinary event ever happening. Then this thing happens and loved ones, colleagues and neighbours are taken from this life in a twinkle of an eye leaving behind heartache, anguish and bewilderment. Even those who are left without loss of loved ones face months if not years of rubble- physical and emotional- to cope with. Normalcy and routine as one resumes one’s life under these circumstances is not possible for a while. Read the rest of this entry »
MET sees non-stop rain in Johor this week
Posted by Kit in environment, Johore on Monday, 31 January 2011
By Boo Su-Lyn
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET) has forecast continuous rain in major towns in Johor throughout the week.
Unrelenting rain in the southern state has forced thousands from their homes, cutting off Segamat and threatening other towns.
“Tomorrow morning, we expect isolated rain over coastal areas,” an official from MET’s Central Forecast Office told The Malaysian Insider today.
“We expect thunderstorms in the afternoon tomorrow throughout Johor,” she added.
Heavy rain is forecast in Segamat today and all of tomorrow, while thunderstorms are expected to occur in the afternoons for the rest of the week, according to the MET website.
Segamat’s first respite from the rain is expected to come only on Saturday afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the environment category.
