Bukit Merah - the true story

The tragic story of human suffering in a new village in Perak - due to the contamination from a rare earth refinery, Asian Rare Earth, a joint-venture company between chemical giant Mitsubishi, Lembaga Tabung Haji of Malaysia and some local partners.

PKR: NFC bosses to open supermart in S'pore

Frustrated by the inaction of the authorities on the National Feedlot Centre scandal, PKR claimed today that Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family was in the midst of operating an upmarket supermarket in Singapore. The new venture may be funded with the RM250 million government soft loan given to NFC, the opposition party added. The supermarket operator, Singapore-registered Farmhouse Supermarkets Pte Ltd, is jointly owned by Mohd Salleh Ismail, second son Wan Shahinur Izran and youngest daughter Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah.

CM car mobbed

It was a disgrace for this group of umno and perkasa youth who are out to create chaos and trouble to disperse the peaceful Himpunan Hijau in Penang. As the chief minister was leaving the Esplanade, these unruly hooligans shouted obscenity, vulgarity and obstruct and thump the CM's car. This provoke a scuffle which cumulate into a violent fracas. It took the CM's car more than 10 minutes before fleeing for safety. There were policemen in the vicinity but they make no attempt to stop or control the thugs, nor help to make way for CM's car to exit.

Polis Yakin Berkas Suspek Belasah Wartawan Dalam Perhimpunan Hijau

Polis Yakin Berkas Suspek Belasah Wartawan Dalam Perhimpunan Hijau

The Fear of a Toxic Rerun

KUANTAN, Malaysia — A $230 million refinery being built here in an effort to break China’s global chokehold on rare earth metals is plagued by environmentally hazardous construction and design problems, according to internal memos and current and former engineers on the project.

Protesters at the rare earth plant in Malaysia.

The plant, which would be the world’s biggest refinery for rare earths — metals crucial to the manufacture of a wide range of technologies including smartphones, smart bombs and hybrid cars — has also become the target of protesters who fear that the plant will leak radioactive and toxic materials into the water table.

Weekly demonstrations have drawn crowds since March, and someone recently threw gasoline fire bombs at the gated home of a senior project manager.

Some risks had been expected from the plant, which would refine rare earth ores into manufacturing-grade materials. Although rare earths are not radioactive, in nature they are usually found mixed with thorium — which is.

Are Rare Earth Minerals Too Costly for Environment?

Lindsey Hilsum of Independent Television News examines how mining rare earth minerals -- considered to be an obscure yet profitable industry, is causing a major environmental dilemma in China.

Transcript

LINDSEY HILSUM: It doesn't look very green. Rare earth processing in China is a messy, dangerous, polluting business. It uses toxic chemicals, acids, sulfates, ammonia. The workers have little or no protection.

But, without rare earth, Copenhagen means nothing. You buy a Prius hybrid car and think you're saving the planet. But each motor contains a kilo of neodymium and each battery more than 10 kilos of lanthanum, rare earth elements from China.

Green campaigners love wind turbines, but the permanent magnets used to manufacture a 3-megawatt turbine contain some two tons of rare earth. The head of China's Rare Earth Research Institute shows me one of those permanent magnets. He's well aware of the issues.

ZHAO ZENGQI, Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute: The environmental problems include air emissions with harmful elements, such as fluorine and sulfur, wastewater that contains excessive acid, and radioactive materials, too. China meets 95 percent of the world's demand for rare earth, and most of the separation and extraction is done here. So, the pollution stays in China, too.

LINDSEY HILSUM: The authorities gave us a DVD of Baiyunebo in Inner Mongolia, where most of the world's rare earth is mined, along with iron ore. They wouldn't let us film it ourselves.

But at Baotou, 100 miles away, we found the frozen tailing lake where rare earth mixes with mud, waiting for processing at nearby factories. Technologies we all use, like computers, mobile phones and energy-saving light bulbs use rare earths processed here. And local villagers whose farmland has been ruined by seepage from the lake pay the price.

WANG CUN GUANG, farmer: The Baotou Environmental Protection Bureau tested our water, and they concluded that it wasn't fit for people or animals to drink or for irrigation.

LINDSEY HILSUM: For those who remember the old life, it's hard to understand. The authorities pay compensation, acknowledging that the land has been ruined, but they haven't yet relocated the villagers.

JIA BAO CHENG, farmer: Rare earth is the country's resource, but small people like us need to eat, too. We live on farming, but the crops no longer grow, and we will go hungry.

LINDSEY HILSUM: At a rare earth conference in Hong Kong, the talk is of how to reduce dependence on China, which achieved 95 percent dominance by undercutting other producers.

MARK SMITH, CEO, Molycorp Minerals: If the purpose is to lower our dependence on foreign oil, and all We're doing is asking that we put hybrid cars on the road that need Chinese rare earth materials, aren't we changing, you know, inter-trading one dependence for another?

LINDSEY HILSUM: High on the frozen steppe of Inner Mongolia, a huge wind farm. China is aiming to be the world leader in wind energy. Chinese negotiators at Copenhagen may resist political commitments, but the government is already subsidizing new technologies to boost the economy and be sustainable.

Deal or no deal at Copenhagen, there's going to be an increased demand for wind turbines, both inside China and outside. But what the Chinese want to ensure is that they're not just providing the essential raw materials, the rare earths, and doing the manufacturing, but that they also have access to the most advanced low-carbon technologies.

We were shown plans for what they're calling the Silicon Valley of rare earth, a high-tech industrial park in Baotou to attract international investors. This year, there was an outcry when the Chinese said they would restrict the export of rare earth to conserve their supply, and to make foreign companies produce their high-end technologies here in China.

ZHAO ZENGQI: Although China has the largest reserves, we only have 50 percent of global deposits. We are supplying too much rare earth, and it's not sustainable, so we must restrict export.

LINDSEY HILSUM: The writing on the wall says: Become the leader of the world in rare earth industry.

But China can't produce enough for everyone anymore, and if governments are serious about low-carbon technologies, other countries will have to start producing.

MARK SMITH: I think that, if we don't get a couple of projects up and running very, very quickly, there's going to be very severe shortage of rare earths in the world, and all of these clean-energy technologies that we're legislating and trying to implement through policy changes are not going to be possible.

LINDSEY HILSUM: Champions of a low-carbon future have yet to wake up to the environmental price Chinese workers and villagers are paying. At Copenhagen, politicians talk of cutting carbon emissions, but they can't meet any targets without rare earth, and that means a sustainable supply, and not all from China.

Anti Lynas Save Malaysia event turns ugly in Penang

A fight broke out as Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng walked down from the stage to meet Anti Lynas Save Malaysia supporters after his speech to about 500 people at Speakers Corner, Esplanade, Penang, this evening.
The person injured is a reporter by the name of Adam Baba who was treated at the General Hospital for head and hand injuries.

Sincerely - UMNO BEROKS

Dari "Puaka" kepada "Dr" ? Realiti atau fantasi ?

Video pendedahan ekslusif penggunaan ilmu hitam, gangster, serta pembunuhan altantuya yang dikaitkan dengan Rosmah Mansor, Isteri Perdana Menteri Malaysia

Wake up, vote Pakatan

It is time for the rakyat to give Pakatan at least three terms in governing. After all, BN has been given the mandate to govern for over half a century.

COMMENT

An absent-minded professor was late for his lecture. He jumped into a cab and shouted, “Hurry! At top speed!” As the cab sped along, he realised that he hadn’t told the driver where to go, so he shouted, “Do you know where I want to go?” “No, sir,” said the cabbie “but I’m driving as fast as I can.”

The above anecdote was quoted from page 177 of the book “One Minute Nonsense” written by the late Father Anthony de Mello, a Catholic Jesuit priest from India and it exemplifies perfectly the sorry state the Barisan Nasional federal government is in – on autopilot mode. Nonetheless, many of the citizens of Malaysia can also be said to be in an equal state of stupor.

Youths take over anti-Lynas rally in KL

In Kuantan, Anwar told the huge crowd that Pakatan would cancel the LAMP if it came into federal power and and that the opposition would submit an emergency motion in Parliament soon.

KUALA LUMPUR: The capital city today stood in solidarity with its Kuantan counterparts in calling for an end to Lynas Corporation Ltd and its rare earth plant in Gebeng.

Close to 1,000 people set Maju Junction awash in various shades of green this morning as they gathered as early as 8.30am for the nationwide Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally.

While the KL numbers were nowhere near the 10,000 strong crowd at the main rally site in Kuantan, its significance lay in it demographics. As Kuala Selangor MP, Dzulkefly Ahmad noted, almost all were below 40 with half in their twenties.

Brunei Smartest, Singapore Smarter, Sarawak Stupid, Sabah Most Stupid Beyond Redemption !!

Brunei Smartest, Singapore Smarter, Sarawak Stupid, Sabah Most Stupid Beyond Redemption!! (Part-1. Brunei)

I don't have to be a Malaysian history expert or professor to talk about the formation of Malaysia. Tunku Abdul Rahman "invited" Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore to form "Federation of Malaysia" with Malaya. Therefore, Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore could have more privileges and special rights than "any of the states in Malaya", in short, they should not be deemed as just one of the states in the Federation of Malaysia, they ought to be treated as a "treaty-member" with Malaya!

Let's look at Brunei in Part-1:
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The Brunei Sultanate would have ceased to exist as an independent state without Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saiffuddien.
In August 1963, Indonesia was opposing the proposed Federation of Malaysia and confronting Malaya and Singapore. Only eight months earlier, on 8 December 1962, Brunei had faced a revolt by Sheikh Azahari of the Partai Rakyat Brunei (PRB) and British forces from Singapore had flown in to put down the rebellion.
It was a time of great peril when the Sultan decided not to join the proposed Federation. Singapore went ahead and joined the Federation. Sultan Omar Ali was under great pressure from the British who had hinted that they would be leaving the region soon. But he stood firm.
He put his position as Sultan and the fate of his people on the line. His judgment was that the British would be responsible enough to give him some time to get his country in better shape before British forces left.

Khalwat: Anwar Pertahan Badrul Amin

Khalwat: Anwar Pertahan Badrul Amin: An Example Description

Bought By Belian ! Baram’s Betrayal By BN MP

Local man who has swapped loyalty for wealth

The people of Baram have been sold down their own river by their native MP, the Federal Deputy Trade & Industry Minister Jacob Sagan!

Sarawak Report has received exclusive information, indicating that the local man’s support for Taib’s plans to flood his own area has been bought by two large timber concessions, allowing him to log Belian wood!

The shocking betrayal explains why Sagan, who is himself a Kenyah, born in Long Anap on the banks of the Baram River, is refusing to prevent Taib’s plans to build yet another dam in the region.

The proposed Baram Dam would flood about 400 square kilometres of forest lands and displace around 20,000 indigenous people from Sagan’s own community, including his home village of Long Anap. Altogether, 26 Kenyah, Kayan and Penan villages will be drowned under water.

Penjelasan Tuduhan Berniat Jahat Terhadap Dr Badrulamin Baharon

Penjelasan Tuduhan Berniat Jahat Terhadap Dr Badrulamin Baharon

Saya menafikan dengan sekeras-kerasnya dakwaan media bahawa saya ditangkap khalwat oleh pegawai Jabatan Agama Islam Pahang (JAIP) di Kuantan.

Saya ke Kuantan untuk menghadiri Temurapat Pemimpin Parti Keadilan Rakyat pada 24 Februari sehingga 26 Februari 2012. Saya mengambil peranan aktif di dalam Temurapat ini.

Pada petang 24 Februari 2012, wanita tersebut telah menghubungi saya dengan nada cemas dan menyatakan hasrat beliau untuk melarikan diri daripada rumah kerana bimbangkan keselamatan diri beliau. Saya dengan tegas menasihatkan beliau untuk tidak berbuat demikian.

Walau bagaimanapun pada jam 2.00 pagi 25 Februari 2012, beliau telah menghubungi saya memaklumkan bahawa beliau sudah tiba di lokasi Temurapat Pemimpin Keadilan.

Saya telah mengenali pasangan suami isteri ini sejak lebih setahun lalu semasa wanita itu bersama keluarganya mengikuti rombongan umrah saya. Pasangan suami isteri ini sering berhubung dengan saya bagi mendapatkan nasihat mengenai masalah keluarga yang mereka hadapi termasuk kes keganasan rumah tangga. Di dalam usaha membantu pasangan ini, saya dan isteri pernah menziarahi keluarga ini di Rompin.

Di atas rasa tanggungjawab melihat wanita tersebut bersama anaknya di awal pagi, saya membantu beliau mendapatkan bilik penginapan. Pada jam 2.30 pagi suami wanita tersebut bersama lebih kurang 20 orang yang tidak dikenali menyerbu dan menyerang saya. Suami wanita tersebut kemudiannya telah membawa isteri dan anaknya pergi secara paksa.

Lelaki-lelaki bersikap ala samseng ini berhenti memukul saya apabila pihak keselamatan tiba dan menghalang mereka. Namun mereka masih tidak membenarkan saya keluar dari bilik. Hanya setelah 20 minit dikurung oleh samseng tersebut, pegawai Jabatan Agama Islam Pahang (JAIP) tiba dan menahan saya yang berseorangan di dalam bilik.

Kenyataan Timbalan Pengarah JAIP bahawa saya ditahan oleh pegawai JAIP ketika berkhalwat adalah tidak benar sama sekali. Saya beranggapan bahawa kejadian ini merupakan satu tindakan terancang untuk memerangkap dan mengaibkan saya. Saya hanya dipanggil untuk membantu siasatan JAIP pada 27 Februari 2012. Saya akan hadir bersama peguam untuk memberi kerjasama penuh kepada siasatan ini.

Dengan penjelasan ini, saya berharap semua pihak menghentikan tohmahan dan fitnah terhadap saya. Saya tidak akan teragak-agak untuk mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap mana-mana pihak yang membuat tuduhan dan fitnah terhadap saya.

Dr. Badrulamin Bahron