PRESS STATEMENT, 1st JULY 2013
Himpunan Hijau : Lynas’ TOL must be revoked immediately
“Lynas must shut down the operations of their Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng immediately for they have seriously violated the conditions of their ridiculous Temporary Operating Licence (TOL).
“The authority must revoked the TOL immediately,” said Wong Tack, chairperson of Himpunan Hijau
Himpunan Hijau had known all along that the issuance of the TOL is full of irregularities and is totally unacceptable. We are appalled by the recent statement by our newly appointed Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Ewon Ebin that Lynas can continue their operations because having a temporary residue storage facility at their LAMP is sufficient to comply with the conditions in the TOL.
“This statement from Ewon is a blatant lie. It shows his ignorance and lack of concern for the most critical issue of the people in this nation. Either he has the intention to purposely mislead the people or he is sleeping on his job.
“For a Science Minister, accuracy in facts and figures is very crucial. No wonder Dr. Ong Kian Ming, MP for Serdang, questioned his academic credentials.
“With that, we call upon him to immediately step down from his position,” said Wong Tack.
“The country will never move forward if the Prime Minister continues to put people who know nuts about their portfolio into cabinet,” added Wong Tack.
Himpunan Hijau would also like to point out that the government must abide by the conditions for the approval of the TOLset forth by the previous cabinet which was declared in a joint ministerial statement by the ex-Minister of International Trade and Industry, Mustapa Mohamad, ex- Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Maximus Ongkili, ex-Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Douglas Uggah Embas and ex-Minister of Health, Liow Tiong Lai.
One of the conditions clearly state that Lynas is required to submit to AELB details of the plans and location of a proposed permanent waste disposal facility within ten months from the date the TOL is issued.
Though the four ministers are either no more holding ministerial positions or no longer holding the same portfolio, they should still be held responsible. They must come forward to declare their stand on Lynas.
Without any compromise, we demand the immediate revocation of Lynas’ TOL and the immediate shut down of Lynas after the 2nd July 2013 which is the deadline for Lynas to comply with the conditions of their TOL.
Steering Committee of Himpunan Hijau