Law Hieng Ding should direct the immediate public release of the conditions for the DOE’s approval for the EIA report of the Bukit Nanas central toxic waste treatment plant

By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, April 4,1993:

Law Hieng Ding should direct the immediate public release of the conditions for the DOE’s approval for the EIA report of the Bukit Nanas central toxic waste treatment plant

It is most regrettable that since the announcement six days ago by the Director-General of the Department of Environment (DOE), Dr. Abu Bakar Jaafar, that DOE had given its approval for the RM$200 million central toxic waste treatment plant in Bukit Nanas, Negri Sembilan, nither the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment noe the DOE had taken any action to allay the anxieties and fears of the 100,000 people in the Rasa Parliamentary constituency who are worried about the pollution to their environment, threat to their health and damage to their livelihoods.

Dr. Abu Bakar has said that DOE had given approval to the consortium undertaking the project, Kualiti Alam Sdn. Bhd., which comprises the three Danish companies – I.Kruger, Chemcontrol and Enviroplan – and two Malaysian companies, Arab-Malaysian Development Bhd. And United Engineers (M) Bhd. Subject to numerous conditions.

He said that they were the largest number of conditions set by DOE for the approval of an EIA report.

Why didn’t Dr. Abu Bakar make public the conditions for the approval of the EIA report at the same time?

The Minister for Science, Technology and Environment, Datuk Law Hieng Ding, should direct the immediate public release of the conditions for the DOE’s approval for the EIA report of the Bukit Nanas central toxic waste treatment plant.

Furthermore, the DOE Director-General and the Minister for Science, Technology and Environment should make a special trip to Bukit Pelandok, SiteA and SiteC Villages in Negri Sembilan to hold a dialogue with the affected residents of the Bukit Nanas toxic waste plant to explain the reason for the EIA approval and the conditions.

Press Statement (2)

By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Saturday, April 4, 1993:

Has Ling Liong Sik lost jurisdiction over the Subang International Airport although he is still Transport Minister because of four security scandals in less than a year and has it come under the direct charge of the Deputy Prime Minister?

Yesterday, the Deputy Prime Minister, Ghafar Baba, said for the second successive day that Subang International Airport security problems would be raised in the Cabinet on Wednesday.

Ghafar Baba said yesterday that the Cabinet will discuss the new airport security arrangements next Wednesday, commenting that the Malaysian Airports Bhd, was not ready to implement the new security arrangements with regard to press coverage at the airport.

The day before, Ghafar Baba expressed regret at the “second breach of security” at the Subang international airport despite the beefed-up security and hoped that it would not recur.

It would appear that after all the great publicity about the beefed-up security at the Subang international airport, the Deputy Prime Minister has also lost all confidence in the security arrangements and is now living on ‘hope’ alone.

In actual fact, the so-called ‘second breach security’ is the fourth security scandal at the Subang Internation Airport in less than a year, when taking into account the Subang International Airport Terminal One fire last April and the Subang International Airport control tower fire last October.

What makes it more scandalous is that the fourth security scandal took places less than 24 hours after the inspection visit of the Deputy Prime Minister where he ordered new security measures for the airport.

The first intruder to breach the airport security, Shamsul Ramli, 16, was described as ‘not very bright’ while the second intruder on Wednesday, Mohamed April, 25, was described as of ‘unsound mind’.

Something must be very wrong with the Subang International Airport if youngsters who are ‘not very bright’ and ‘of unsound mind’ could breach its security with apparent ease.

It is most significant that since Wednesday’s fourth security scandal at the Subang International Airport in less than a year – and taking place within 24 hours of the inspection visit of the Deputy Prime Minister – the Transport Minister, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, has said absolutely nothing on it, with Ghafar Baba making all the comments.

Malaysian want to know whether Liong Sik, although still Transport Minister, has lost jurisdiction over the Subang International Airport because of four security scandals in less than a year and that the Subang International Airport and its security have come under the direct charge of the Deputy Prime Minister himself.

Or has Liong Sik become numb to the security scandals and lost all interest in the Subang International Airport security as beyond ‘redemption’ and doesn’t care how many security scandals theSybang Airport has a year?