Media statement by Lim Guan Eng in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 6^th April 2012: 

Chua Soi Lek should prove MCA's commitment to respecting the decision of a majority of Malaysians wanting to close down the Lynas Rare Earth Plant near Kuantan, by withdrawing from BN  

The sudden flip-flop by MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek or MCA's about-turn from supporting the Lynas rare earth processing plant to demanding that the plant be scrapped, not only highlights MCA’s inconsistency and lack of principle but also questions MCA sincerity and credibility. Ordinary Malaysians have no faith whatseover in MCA President Chua Soi Lek's public call for the Lynas plant to be scrapped and regard this as a clever general election ploy to hoodwink the voters.

MCA should prove MCA's commitment to respecting the wishes of a majority of Malaysians wanting to close down the Lynas Rare Earth plant near Kuantan, by withdrawing from BN and not rejoining BN until UMNO cancels this RM2.3 billion rare earth processing project. So long as UMNO has refused to commit themselves publicly to pay full compensation for the huge sums of monies spent by Lynas in building the rare earth facility, no one believes that the Parliamentary Select Committee(PSC) on Lynas will dare to recommend the closing down the facility.

Worse, Chua continues to press for Lynas to send the radioactive rare earth waste out of the country back to Australia is ridiculous when Australia has publicly and officially rejected such requests. Unlike BN, the Australian government will not put the health and safety of Australians ahead of huge profits.

Further for MCA to suddenly flip-flop from its previous position, and now suddenly see the light by urging the BN to scrap the rare earth processing facility just before the 13th General Elections smacks of sheer opportunism, a desperate and unprincipled attempt to buy votes. Malaysians will not forget MCA’s flip-flop when MCA has all along fully supported UMNO’s line that the Lynas plant is important for creating jobs, attracting high-value investment, technological know-how, is safe and poses no radioactive health risks to Malaysians.

For MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek to say that it was no longer a matter of whether the plant is safe, but that the government could not ignore the views of the majority of Malaysians being against Lynas, shows that it is not right or wrong that matters. Once again MCA has shown itself to be a party without principle and backbone.

There is nothing to stop MCA from doing another flip-flop again after the next general elections to support the Lynas rare earth plant after the next general elections. Therefore this is a last chance for MCA to prove its commitment to scrap the Lynas plant by withdrawing from BN and standing under its own banner at the next general elections. Would Chua dare to announce that MCA would only rejoin BN when the Lynas plant is closed down? Any failure to do so will allow Malaysians to decide whether to trust a party that not only deceives itself but try to deceive others.

*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan