EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

Managing risks

BY taking part in a protest in Kuantan yesterday, the politically-motivated as well as the environmentally-minded seem to be demonstrating that the answer to the ecological concerns raised by the construction of the world's biggest rare earth ore processing plant in Gebeng is to send it to the scrap heap. It goes without saying that the safety of the people and the protection of the environment should always be major considerations in development planning. As the processing of rare earth involves toxic products, it can, indeed, create serious environmental hazards and health problems. Certainly, we should not proceed without a full accounting of the cost to the earth, air and water and to the welfare of the people. The fact that we had a previous bad experience with rare earth extracting and refining gives us every reason to move with caution.

But then again, none of the potential risks is much different from the innumerable pitfalls we routinely face in growing the economy and developing society. The fact is that we can't always have our cake and eat it, too. Mining and manufacturing are always dirty processes, and even so-called clean energy sources have adverse impacts on the environment. In any case, through careful planning, stringent regulation, and effective oversight the damage to the environment can be kept at a very low level. Indeed, unless one is predisposed to avoiding any risk at any cost or inclined to believe the worst about anything that the government does, it is not impossible to reap the benefits of economic development while at the same time meet our own environmental imperatives. Whatever the problems may be, they are not insurmountable. Which is why, the solution does not lie in opposing each and every project that contains a potential threat to the environment. Playing on the public fear of radioactive contamination and the spectre of the country becoming the dumping ground of toxic waste by Western countries is not helpful. Neither is a not-in-my-backyard attitude. Such an emotive approach does not bring critical facts about the pros and cons about rare earth mining and processing to the debate.

This is why the impending review by the nine-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is to be welcomed. The findings of this expert panel should serve as a valuable source of analysis for informed decision-making. But as a backlash can be expected in the event that the project gets the green light, the challenge is to manage not only the environmental risks but also the political fallout.