Lynas and Our Politicians' Greed and Selfishness

Greedy, selfish and foolish...this is how I summed up our ruling politicians with regards to Lynas. Read the editorial from The Malaysian Insider:

Fancy this. Four ministers have told Lynas Corp to ensure all residue and by-products from its Gebeng rare earth refinery are to be removed from the country and not processed here as announced by the Australian miner. Fact is, these four ministers look ridiculous for issuing a statement on an investment they supported and promoted over the past year. Did they think of all this before selling Malaysians the idea that a rare earth refinery or “advanced materials plant” would be great for the Malaysian economy. Didn’t they think that all safeguards and guarantees should have been obtained before the plant is built and starts operating? Didn’t they think perhaps Lynas Corp has seen to it that it can do what it wants within its stated operations? What can Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Douglas Unggah Embas and Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai do now apart from issuing a statement endorsed by the Cabinet? What use is there to say if Lynas fails to comply with the condition, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) is empowered under section 22 of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 to suspend or revoke the TOL and order Lynas to immediately cease operation. Just do it if Lynas has broken any regulations.

Yes, without a doubt it is a major screw up and reckless gamble with the health and well-being of fellow Malaysians. Some guys are going to make huge profit from this deal and be able to settle in any part of the world and enjoy the freshest air. But most of the folks around Gebeng, Kuantan and worse still East Malaysia are going to face the biggest danger in their life.