MARCH 11 — What is all the big fuss about Lynas Corp Rare Earth Refinery? It is a 'zero radiation risk' classified processing plant, which means Lynas has promised that there would be virtually no risk of contamination or risk to the population.
Commenting as an outsider, you won't be surprised at the majority of Malaysians who are agreeable to the highly publicised project. Should there be a hung parliament after the next polls, which will be the indicator that at least half of the country does not have any qualms about LYNAS operating in Pahang State. Lots of articles have been published in the past condemning the LYNAS plant, so I doubt if anyone in the media will publish this article in support of it. So much for freedom of expression!
Although there are some who calls me a harebrained journalist which I would not deny, after residing a couple of years near Tanjong Rambutan in Perak, but I swear that I was never ever near Bukit Merah.
Besides, LYNAS is set to open in June as scheduled and its share price has jumped by a walloping 0.6 per cent. It also has the undivided support of the Federal and Pahang State government. So let us look at the cold hard facts before we jump into any irrational conclusion and oppose for the sake of opposing.
LYNAS is situated more than 20kms away from Kuantan City. Should there be a contamination alert which is a million to one chance; it will still take days for the wind to blow any contamination towards Kuantan City. Kuantan residents are as safe as a bank vault.
We should thank the Australians for situating the plant in Pahang after scouring the whole world for a suitable place to locate their plant. Imagine, creating 250-400jobs for the local populace at a time when jobs are hard to come by, is no mean feat. Nowadays, with the bad job situation in the country, even the millions of foreigners working in this country are starting to pack up and job hop to other countries.
Australia is a small island, not conducive to Rare Earth mining activities unlike mainland Malaysia, while Gebeng with its strategic access and superb port facilities at Kemaman and Kuantan Port makes it the perfect location in the world for Rare Earth processing. Really, there is no facility in Australia at the present moment that can be compared with the high tech infrastructure found at the Gebeng Industrial Estate.
But the 12 year tax exemption for Lynas to operate unbridled in this country could be the actual carrot and not so much for Australia's stringent environmental laws.
AELB has issued a Temporary Operating License based on scientific evidence and the zero risk classification by LYNAS, even though a storage facility is yet to be found. But AELB is a licensing board, and it is the job of a licensing board to issue licenses. EIA has also given the green light although no comprehensive studies has been done, as the EIA are pretty sure that LYNAS will not foul up like Mitsubishi of Japan. But all is not lost as Four Ministries in the country are directly involved to help LYNAS search high and low for a suitable storage facility. Failing which, our our International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapha Mohd has assured the Malaysians that the radioactive waste would be disposed of overseas even though it may breach international laws. He is pretty sure that many third world countries would line up to receive and store these volatile wastes.
The idea to send back the waste to Australia and throw it back inside Mt Weld where it first originated is not logistical because of the prohibitive cost. It is much cheaper to store it in Malaysia a few kilometres away from the LYNAS site than to ship it thousands of miles back to Australia.
Of course, Australia has adamantly refused to accept the processed waste. Would any Malaysian accept their own waste after Indah Water has processed it and decide to return it to their respective customers?
And should the storage facility leak after a couple of months, one smart alec has concluded that the radio active waste would melt into the ground like butter, so deep that it will reappear on the other side of Down-under(Australia). So there is really no risk after all.
Alternatively, burying the wastes on Mount Tahan, currently the tallest mountain on the Peninsular would be a good suggestion, as Mount Tahan is situated well away from any populated regions and too far up to reach the water table Another good area would be the National Park just a little south of Pekan, Pahang. The Park is so dense, that no one would be able to find the storage site let alone trespass on it. Today, tigers and rhinoceros has been sighted there, so it is the perfect place to site a radioactive storage facility and who knows one day in the future we may see a three headed rhinoceros or an eight legged tiger.
The Pahang MB has suggested burying the waste in the disused Sungei Lembing mine. The Sungei Lembing mine is reputed to be one of the deepest mines in the world, with a catacomb of tunnels stretching far below the earth and it would be a perfect place to bury any wastes without anyone encroaching on it. What a great idea from our beloved MB!
Really, one should not compare LYNAS with the Bukit Merah incident which cost Mitsubishi over RM300million to mitigate the extensive contamination. The Japanese are not as technologically advanced as the Australians. Right after the Bukit Merah incident the Japanese was unfortunate to have another accident at the Fukushima Daaichi Nuclear Power Plant. How careless of them?! Unlike the Japanese, Lynas is a hi-tech processing plant classified as 'zero emissions risk' in the processing of the rare earth. How comforting to know that such rare technology exists?! Even the Malaysian government is impressed!
Radon gas emitted during the processing of the ore, are not as deadly as nuclear fallout, and it may escape into the hemisphere, scattering thousands of miles away, so Kuantan is not at direct risk. If it rains the chemicals will scatter over a wide area, and will affect not only Malaysia but other South East Asian countries as well. So the risk is equally shared even though Malaysia stands to benefit the most from an economical standpoint.
'Thorium' a by product from the extraction of rare earth, may be deadly but Lynas has the ability to contain it from high risk to zero risk, repack it and store it in a zero emissions facility which has yet to be identified. Every business has its risks, and if LYNAS is willing to risk RM750million to invest in Pahang and to create a hefty 250jobs for the locals why would Malaysians be so negative about it?
Besides, industrial accidents are bound to happen. It's just a question of when? That should not stop us from taking advantage of the situation to excel economically and supply 20per cent of the world's rare earth.
Kuantan City would be thrown into the international limelight boasting of the largest Rare Earth plant in the world. Imagine the huge economic spin offs, the economic boost and the sudden rise in property prices, while attracting millions of tourists across the world to its famous uncontaminated beaches.
Lynas Advanced Materials Plant or LAMPS as it is called, will be to many who are not well versed, as just a table lamp or lamp post producer. Most tourists won't be able to differentiate rare earth from red earth, so they will not have any qualms staying in hotels just a few kilometres from the LYNAS plant.
Should by any remote chance, any contaminants from the tonnes of chemicals used to process the rare earth ever escapes into the sea, the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean is more than capable to absorb and soak up the radiation, so swimmers and fishes are not at any risk.
Complaints of LYNAS using inferior materials to build the processing plant are just hearsay, from disgruntled companies and suppliers of resin out to make a fast buck. LYNAS has since replaced these contractors and outsourced for better contractors using superior materials for a lot less.
Prime Minister Najib has insisted that LYNAS is 'scientifically safe.' So sometimes, we really should learn to trust our Prime Minister, as he always has our interests at heart.
Should a disillusioned LYNAS decides to pack up and leave, disappointed and sad at our unwelcome attitude, and our hesitation to take risks, all the countries in the world, would be queuing up to welcome LYNAS into their backyards, including the USA, Singapore and Japan, not to mention hopefuls like Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Sudan.
So, as investors pour into Kuantan to secretly buy up all available properties from unsuspecting owners, even though the properties are now sky-high, Malaysians should be thankful to LYNAS for choosing Malaysia to be their anchor country. Kuantan would evolve into an international class city outstripping Kuala Lumpur, with the status of the most liveable city on earth. And it's all thanks to LYNAS.
* Iskandar Dzulkarnain reads The Malaysian Insider.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
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