Media statement by Lim Guan Eng in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 20^th June 2012: 

Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin should move his Parliamentary Constituency from Pasir Gudang to Indera Mahkota or Kuantan  

DAP challenges Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin and parliamentary select committee's (PSC) report on Lamp to prove his willingness to live next to the plant as announced in the press yesterday. Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin should move his parliamentary constituency from Pasir Gudang to Indera Mahkota or Kuantan(where Lamp is located) to prove his sincerity in staying beside the LAMP.

If Dato Seri Khaled can describe Lamp as "the safest rare earth plant in the world.", then when is he moving his family next door to the RM700 million rare earths processing plant in Gebeng, Kuantan. His comments on the safest rare earth plant in the world, made even before the PSC report on Lamp was tabled to Parliament clearly confirms suspicions that the PSC is designed to "whitewash" the issue and legitimatise the operation of Lamp.

I wonder whether Dato Seri Khaled's wife and children would move up with him to Gebeng next to the Lamp when the Australian government has refused to offer any guarantees that they will take back any waste residue produced. The decision by BN to adopt the PSC report in Parliament yesterday exposes the deception of the people and hypocrisy of MCA leaders, including its President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lik, who had pretended to oppose the Lamp.

The principal issue is why Lynas has to travel thousands of miles away to transport rare earth ore that is mined in Western Australia to Kuantan, when it is cheaper to build one in Australia? Clearly Australian government places the welfare, health and environment of their citizens as more important than profits.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak is committed to allowing Lamp to operate as BN values profits more than people's health. By failing to listen to the concerns of the people, BN highlights the contrasting environmental approaches between PR that wants the Lamp closed down.

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