Malaysian villagers confused with rare earths plant project

01.03.2012

A controversial rare earths refinery in the Malaysian state of Pahang is set to become a hot topic in the coming General Election.

The ruling Barisan Nasional government has accused the opposition of causing confusion, and fanning public anger against the authorities for granting Australian miner Lynas a temporary licence to operate the plant.

Mr Sulaiman Abdullah, 55, is a fisherman in Kampung Balok, a village that's home to about 400 families.

Like everyone else there, he has always relied on the sea for his living.

Mr Sulaiman has nine children and 13 grandchildren. Now, he is worried about a rare earths refinery that's being built, just two kilometres away.

Owned by Australian miner Lynas, the processing plant is almost ready. Fears are that waste water will be channelled through a river into the sea.

Mr Sulaiman said: ""PAS people said the water is hazardous but BN people said it's not, we don't understand, all we know is fishing at sea, if there's no fish we go home and sleep."

Mr Sulaiman's had many visitors recently - from both opposition and ruling parties - and everyone is telling him different things.

He said he's got no interest in politics... but he's getting confused.

Mr Sulaiman said: "I am worried because the water from the refinery will be channelled through here and this area may be ruined, the fish may die and the people too."

His 32-year-old son, Mohamad Hazami Sulaiman, is undecided even though many of his friends are tempted by the higher pay that Lynas has offered.

Mr Mohd Hazami Sulaiman, Seafood Retailer, said: "The BN-led government said the project is good, but the opposition Keadilan said it's bad. I don't know who to believe."

Both sides of the political divide have accused each other of misleading the public.

Prime Minister Najib Razak had said there's no scientific evidence to show that the plant would harm residents in the vicinity.

The opposition has given its backing to civil societies and joined in anti-Lynas protests to gain public support.

With a General Election nearing, the issue of Lynas is becoming more and more politicised. For the fishing community along the coast of Kuantan, they hope the refinery will not cause more pollution to their rivers and jeopardise their livelihood.