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Posts tagged Press Statement
Will Tun Mohammad Hanif Omar’s Appointment Be A Whitewash Of Police Brutality On Peaceful Demonstrators
1 year ago
by JohnShen
in News & Politics
Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 10.5.2012.
Will Tun Mohammad Hanif Omar’s Appointment Be A Whitewash Of Police Brutality On Peaceful Demonstrators, A Massive Cover-Up Of The Sufferings Of The Victims Or A Pretext To Justify BN’s Wild Lies That Bersih 3.0 Was A Coup D’état Attempt.
The appointment of former inspector-general of police Tun Mohamad Hanif Omar to head of the independent panel to probe incidents of violence during the Bersih 3.0 rally has raised deep public concerns that the investigation will either be a whitewash of police brutality on peaceful demonstrators, a massive cover-up of the sufferings of the victims or a pretext to justify BN’s wild lies that Bersih 3.0 was a coup d’état attempt. Hanif, who is now Genting Malaysia Bhd Deputy Chair, had claimed that communist sympathizers were involved in the Bersih 3.0 rally, and supported Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s claim that the Bersih 3.0 rally was an attempt to overthrow the government. Hanif further stated that the tactics of using provocateurs to cause the demonstrators to clash with police and to bring children along in the hope they would get injured were tactics learnt from past pro-communist demonstrations.
How can Datuk Seri Najib Razak consider Hanif as a “credible, experienced and respectable” individual that ensures its investigation panel is independent and unbiased, when Hanif has adopted such a prejudiced and partisan stand against the Bersih 3.0 rally as an attempt to overthrow the government? What makes those claims of a coup d’tat by Najib and Hanif most ridiculous is that both of them ignored the fact that six local pressmen and about 12 photographers and journalists from the foreign media were reportedly assaulted during the fracas on April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally by police. To add insult to injury, Hanif is now heading the investigation panel raising doubts about the integrity, reliability and credibility of its findings. As a former Inspector-General of Police, Hanif is first and foremost disqualified from serving on the investigation panel due to this conflict of interest as the police is being accused. Secondly, by publicly condemning Bersih, Hanif’s prejudiced bias would also disqualify him to serve on the investigation panel. Finally, by linking Bersih to communism, Hanif is still fighting yesterday’s long-concluded wars, making the outcome of these investigations a foregone conclusion. For these reasons, the Prime Minister should try to salvage or restore some credibility and public confidence as well as renew faith that “justice will not only be done but be seen to be done” by replacing Hanif with an independent, apolitical, unbiased and an upright person of integrity.
Himpunan Hijau
1 year ago
by JohnShen
in News & Politics
Press Statement
By Himpunan Hijau
19 March 2012
Himpunan Hijau stressed that the setting-up of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Lynas issue is irrelevant and unnecessary.
“Instead, the committee wants the government to immediately cancel the Temporary Operating Licence (TOL). We also suggest that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) steps-in to investigate all the irregularities in the approval process.
“The PSC is a propaganda tool and a public relation exercise to deceive the people. It is thus an insult to our Parliament”, said Wong Tack, chairperson of the Himpunan Hijau Steering Committee.
Himpunan Hijau calls upon the government to stop this foolish act.
“We want all MPs to boycott the PSC and not to allow themselves to be reduced to the degrading status of being a mouthpiece of an oppressive foreign capitalist colonizer,” Wong Tack advises the parliamentarians.
“We also urge all NGOs not to participate in this process.
For more than a year, responsible citizens of Kuantan have shown the strongest objections on the Lynas project. Yet the authorities have continued to ignore and showed no concern. After all the recent ridiculous flip-flop statements by various ministers, another gimmick in the guise of a PSC is proposed with the false intention of gathering information and engaging the public.
“The setting-up of the PSC clearly shows that our various ministers including our Prime Minister have made conclusive statements that the plant is safe without facts and information.
“It also proves that the hasty approval of the project and the issuance of the Temporary Operating Licence was also not based on facts and information.
“The whole procedure is up-side down.
“It is now so clear that the entire government administration is no longer functioning. Those ministers and department directors who have failed in their duties must step down,” said Wong Tack.
Press Statement on Himpunan Hijau 2.0
1 year ago
Press Statement
By WONG TACK
Chairperson, Himpunan Hijau
28 February 2012
Himpunan Hijau advises Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek to face the Lynas issue head-on instead of beating around the bush.
It is very clear that the root cause of the Lynas issue is political wrongdoings. Therefore, a wrong political decision must be resolved with the correct political action. The political situation in this country is such that many politicians are unwilling to speak out and act on an issue if it will adversely affect their personal interests and political agendas. We wish to remind that politicians are given the mandate to protect the wellbeing of the people and the nation. They must not take lightly nor continue to belittle the people on an issue which is of grave concern and closest to the people’s hearts. Therefore, for a leader with the backing of an established political machinery like MCA, Dr. Chua, instead of constantly trying to avoid handling the issue and conveniently trying to accuse the people of politicizing, should :
1) investigate whether someone opened the backdoor of this country and greased the path to allow a monster to slide into our country
2) investigate how a project of such magnitude which can cause massive pollutions can be approved within weeks and required only a PEIA, of which standard is no better than a high school report.
3) engage an independent panel of experts to verify the claims and so-called scientific data provided by Lynas.
4) investigate whether someone directed the Director of AELB to issue the Temporary Operating Licence when full regulatory compliance have not been met . Explain the reasons and logic behind this issuance.
Same goes to the Ministers under Datuk Chua’s leadership especially Dato’ Liow Tiong Lai. As a responsible Minister of Health, he should establish a professional team to conduct an independent research in investigating the ill-impacts of the project on the health of the people. On the other hand, Dato’ Ng Yen Yen, as the Minister of Tourism, must fulfill the responsibility entrusted to her by carrying out an independent analysis of the impact of the project on the tourism industry in the nation particularly in Kuantan. These are the contributions and commitments that the people hope to see from the leaders of this nation. All these years, it was very easy for politicians to give promises and guarantees verbally and even on paper when they are in power.
The tragic and grievous experiences in Bukit Merah, Perak and Mamut copper mine, Sabah reveal the true consequences of these false promises. Both of these operations have closed down for years, whereby money has been made by certain quarters. But until this very moment, the communities of Bukit Merah and Mamut continue to suffer immensely. What has the government done for them? Any collective actions taken apart from pointing fingers? Any chance of finding solutions to reverse the severe damages and sufferings that have taken place? Who are there for the families who are suffering now? Anyone cares? Anyone???
With these real examples of toxic legacies, why are the people and the future generations of this nation being forced to take all these unnecessary, unreasonable and unacceptable risks again? Haven’t the people suffered enough? How much more suffering do those in power, out of greediness and selfishness, want to inflict on the people? Datuk Chua, as a prominent leader of this nation must understand the concept of global interconnectivity and realise that Lynas is not only an issue of the people of Kuantan. For the benefit of the nation, he must elevate his perspectives on environment concerns or global environmental movements.
Therefore, it is very crucial that Dato Chua exercises his political duty and moral responsibility. We are calling on him to stand up and provide the people with a truthful and brave decisive statement on this issue. The clarion call of Himpunan Hijau 3.0 has been activated. We call upon all concerned and responsible citizens of Malaysia to be on alert to respond by coming forward on the day of reckoning on stopping Lynas!
Himpunan Hijau 2.0 Press Statement
1 year ago
Press Statement
By WONG TACK
Chairperson, Himpunan Hijau
27 February 2012
HIMPUNAN HIJAU 3.0 IS ON!
Finally, we have received the first response from our Prime Minister. We feel encouraged but unfortunately, the answer was not what we are expecting. Therefore, we hereby confirmed that Himpunan Hijau 3.0 is on! We realized and strongly believed that in order to have a clean environment, we need a clean government. Thus, looking at the positive partnership of Himpunan Hijau and BERSIH 2.0, we will discuss with Bersih’s Steering Committee on the possibility of organising a joint green and yellow BERSIH 3.0.
Himpunan Hijau is extremely shocked that until today, our leaders are still very much ill-informed of the actual scientific facts and danger of the Lynas project. The people do not accept the position by taken by the government and Lynas.
Firstly, the proposition is wholly disputable because Lynas has not had any prior experience operating such a project. Nor does Lynas possess a pilot-scale plant which would generate an industry-proven data to corroborate these claims. More significantly, Lynas has not disclosed official testimonials which verify the authenticity of the data. Rare earth plant like this does not appear anywhere in this globe except in China. It is wholly unrealistic to accept their claims of zero risk to the people, which is either based on China’s experience or on an hypothetical basis. Thus, if a grassroot movement like Himpunan Hijau can engage experts and scientists to conduct thorough research to obtain the true facts of this issue, why can’t the government?
Our Prime Minister’s suggestion to dump the massive amount of radioactive waste far away from habitated area is totally senseless and unacceptable! This remark from the top leadership in this country is of grave concern to the people because it reflects a shallow understanding of the ecological system and blatant disrespect of natural environment. Every inch of our motherland is a precious natural asset to our nation. The landscape of the countryside is an ecologically sensitive system of forests, rivers and food production farmlands.
Our Prime Minister must realize that the thousands of acres of land used for permanent disposal of toxic/ radioactive wastes will deprive our children and our children’s children for generations to come from getting near it for billions of years. This permanent radioactive polluting site will subject our whole nation to the risks of widespread contaminations and pollutions. So, how could our Prime Minister, at this highly crucial moment, still calls for a compromise and a search for a win-win situation? Can we allow our future generations to face this kind of unreasonable and unnecessary risks? Can we selfishly rob our children of their future?
We understand that our Prime Minister has inherited this issue from the previous administration. We understand that he may be facing pressure from certain groups with vested interest. However, we hope that he could step forward at this critical time and display his true leadership by making an honest and brave decisive decision for the people. We hope this decision will come before Himpunan Hijau 3.0. The action or inaction of the Prime Minister will be remembered for generations to come.
