DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng has rapped prime minister Najib Razak over conflicting statements in explaining the role of the parliamentary select committee on Australian firm Lynas's rare earth plant in Gebeng, Pahang, which has been shunned by Pakatan Rakyat.
Najib on March 17 said the PSC for Lynas would not decide the fate of the Lynas plant, describing it only as an "engagement process" to convince the public of its claimed safety.
The statement was at the centre of a heated debate over the PSC's role in the parliament earlier this week, resulting in all three parties from PR opting out of the committee.
Yesterday, however, Najib criticised the decision by PR, saying the PSC was needed to find a solution beyond partisan politics, and added that the government would not allow the rare earth plant to proceed if it was proven hazardous to public health and environment.
“For Najib to change his tune to say that the PSC was a 'strong basis for us to make a decision' on Lynas is a flip-flop from his 17th March remarks. Clearly this change is the result of PR’s boycott of the PSC,” Lim, also the Penang chief minister, said in his response.
He said Najib's latest about-turn over the PSC's role raised questions on the government's seriousness in closing down Lynas plant in the face of evidences of the huge environmental risk it posed.
He urged Najib to withdraw his March 17 remarks and issue an immediate stop work order on the rare-earth plant Lynas, which would also mean the government pay compensation of some RM700 million to Lynas for the construction of its plant.
“Any failure to do so will only raise doubts as to the integrity of the PSC headed by Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin as nothing more than a mere political tool by BN to legitimatize the illegal or justify the unjustifiable,” said Lim.
-Harakahdaily
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