MCLM Stands and Walks with the People’s Green Coalition

The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) is a member of the People’s Green Coalition and will participate in the Stop Lynas Solidarity Walk.

This peaceful walk will take place on Friday, 20 May 2011. It will start at 2.00 pm at  KLCC and end at the Australian High Commission with the handing over of a people’s memorandum to the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia.

The Stop Lynas Solidarity Walk will bring together concerned Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and social standing, to protest against the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Kuantan.

As with all the members of the People’s Green Coalition, the MCLM rejects the Lynas project which was approved by the BN government without proper consultations with the Rakyat. Malaysian and foreign experts have warned us that the rare earth industry will destroy the lives of people, wreck the environment and leave behind a trail of poison that will linger for billions of years.

Malaysia has already experienced the dire consequences of the rare earth industry in Bukit Merah Perak. At least eight leukaemia cases, with seven resulting in death, have been linked to the Asian Rare Earth plant operations. The plant, operated by Mitsubishi Chemicals from 1985 to 1992, is still carrying out a massive RM300 million clean-up.

The Lynas project is a clear and present danger to the Rakyat of Malaysia. The secrecy surrounding its approval and construction, the fact that the Rakyat were not consulted in any way, is a violation of our rights as Malaysian citizens to determine the destiny of our country.

The MCLM urges all concerned Malaysians to show their support for the Stop Lynas Solidarity Walk. The future of our children is at stake.

Haris Ibrahim
President
Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement