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Highly irresponsible for the Government to go ahead with Broga incinerator without coming clean on incinerator safety


Media Statement
by John Chung

(Petaling Jaya, Friday): It is highly irresponsible for the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Selangor State Government to insist on going ahead with the construction of the Broga incinerator without coming clean on the safety of the proposed incinerator.

Even after a series of meetings with a pro tem committee representing Broga residents, both the Ministry and the State Government have yet to fully convince the residents about the safety of the project and to allay their fears.

How can the Ministry and the State Government claim that the proposed incinerator is safe when during the meetings with the resident representatives, they cannot even shed light on the details of the project in response to the queries posed, much less produce documented studies and research findings to support their contention?

This basic failure by the authorities to answer pertinent questions and address the legitimate concerns of the residents will only increase public doubt on the safety of the incinerator. If the incinerator technology that will be used is truly as safe as the government claims it to be, surely it is not too difficult for the government to provide concrete proof to refute allegations to the contrary and put the matter to rest once and for all.

The inability of even the highest ranking government leaders concerned, whether Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, his deputy Datuk M. Kayveas or Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo to convincingly assure the Broga residents of the incinerator's safety is therefore disconcerting, to say the least.

For instance, in the last meeting between Khir Toyo and the residents, it was reported that he could not even answer basic questions such as the Japanese company which would build the incinerator or the technology that would be used for incineration of waste when Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar had last year announced that three companies had been short-listed for tender for the project, namely Ebara Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Corporation and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, and it is abundantly clear that the incineration technology that would be utilized is a fluidized bed one and based on a gasification and ash melting system.

Moreover, it is improper for the Ministry and the State Government to give the 'go ahead' for Broga to house the incinerator without the completion of an EIA report. It should not be forgotten that the EIA report on the previous proposed incinerator in Kg. Bohol which was subsequently met with widespread protests was replete with various flaws.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia, when commenting on the said Kg. Bohol incinerator EIA report, had stated that the authorities concerned appeared to have pre-decided on the type of technology that was to be used without giving due consideration to other types of technologies which are proven. Hence, it is important that a comprehensive and non-bias EIA be carried out on the suitability of Broga instead of turning the EIA exercise into one of mere formality which seems to be the case at hand.

No one disputes the need of resolving the escalating waste problem in
Klang Valley but the question remains as to whether the type of incineration technology proposed by the government is safe enough, taking into account the health of the surrounding residents.

There is no reason why the authorities cannot consider other types of proven waste disposal technologies such as material recovering facilities (MRF) and refuse derived fuel (RDF) instead on embarking on a largely untested technology for a plant of an unprecedented scale. Even if the proposed technology has to be used, surely it would be more prudent and sensible to build smaller size plants so that any ill-effects could be minimized and spread out.

In any case, the easiest way out from this no win situation for the residents, one would have imagined, is to site the incinerator at an area that is unpopulated. Surely land in Selangor is not so scarce to the extent that the Ministry and the State Government cannot find a site for the incinerator that is isolated enough. The onus is thus on the authorities concerned to show that they are caring enough to heed the protests of the Broga residents.
 

(7/2/2003)


* John Chung, DAP National Publicity Bureau Assistant Secretary