Why Malaysia Still Need Good Ol' US of A.

There have been plenty written about the setting up of an Australian rare-earth mineral refinery plant in Gebeng, Kuantan, the economical reasons behind the project, the environmental impact and many reassurances from the Government administration, as well as the rising voice of disapproval from the public.

I've also been told that an online petition have been set up to protest against this plant.

Many of the comments have ranged from those who are well educated in the sciences of geology and the risk posed by radioactive waste, to those who had the tragic fate of living through the Asian Rare Earth, Bukit Merah disaster in 1992.

(I've not seen any reports that termed this incident as a "disaster", but considering that it is linked to cases of leukemia, birth defects and costs $100 million to clean up, I am sticking to my description of it)

As I clearly do not fall into any of these 2 groups of people, commenting on the Gebeng plant from the environmental and human impact would be an exercise in futility, adding no value to point of views already shared by other more qualified people.

What compelled me to write this, though, is the fact that the Gebeng plant is slated for completion by this year.

This puzzled me. A $230 million plant which would be completed by this year would have broken ground at least a few years back, and permit for the construction even further back. However, this issue have only recently surfaced, with even a senior politician from the opposition party claiming that he only knew of the matter after reading the article on the New York Times! With public awareness of this issue increasing, it is no wonder that politicians who were previously blissfully ignorant of the construction of the plant until the publication of the said NYT article, have came out swinging, both for and against the Australian plant.

If not for the well written article by the NYT journalist, Keith Bradsher, the Malaysian public would have been none the wiser, and those who have benefited from this project either legally or illegally would have escaped the harsh spotlight now shone on them.

This have been the second time in mere months where Malaysia have been embarrassed by overseas media and/or regulatory bodies exposing impropriety and corruption.

Just recently, Telekom Malaysia's (and indirectly, the country's) reputation have been dragged through the mud, when officers of the national telecommunication company were implicated in a global investigation of Alcatel-Lucent's alleged practice of bribery to win contracts. Alcatel-Lucent paid $137 million to settle these charges with the US Justice Department and the SEC.

I dread to think what other Malaysian hidden "land mines" may be uncovered by other countries' "metal detectors" before our own authorities have the chance (or courage, and political neutrality, both seemingly lacking at present) to do so themselves.