AN OPEN LETTER TO AUSTRALIA

By: RONNIE KLASSEN

I RECEIVED this letter from an avid reader of my blog and felt the importance of sharing with all my readers.The Australian Government should take heed and act positively, in pursuant to this letter. Will the Malaysian Government keep silent as usual as in most cases?

H.E. Miles Kupa

Australian High Commissioner

Australian High Commission

6 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng

50450 KUALA LUMPUR

Telephone: 2146 5555

Fax: 2141 5773

Your Excellency,

We, concerned citizens of Malaysia, are of the understanding that Lynas Corporation has made one or more payments to the Malaysian Government.

We suspect and fear that this has somewhat helped to fast track the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) approval process - without public knowledge and through a very loose Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) despite a complex and hazardous project.

Under Malaysia's Official Secrets Act, we will have little, if any, hope of getting any truth out of our Government, even though this matter is of utmost national interest.

In the interests of both Malaysia and Australia, both Lynas and our Government should be transparent about the approval process.

As Australia has been a strong advocate of good governance and is committed to stamping out corruption, we call upon your good Government to compel Lynas Corporation to adhere to its stated value of honesty and transparency to reveal the deal it has struck with the Malaysian Government and also to make all payment records public. This is of interest not only to all Malaysians but also to the Australian shareholders of Lynas Corporation.

We trust that the Australian Government is committed to protecting the good name of Australia and will not risk one corporation's headlong quest for profit , at the expense of the health of Malaysians and the local environment, to tarnish the good reputation of Australia.

We therefore urge the Australian Government to investigate Lynas Corporation for any possible wrongdoings in its dealings with the Malaysian Government. We were appalled and disgusted to learn that Lynas Corporation had offered a job to the soon-to-be-retired Director-General of the Malaysian Atomic Agency Licensing Board (AELB), Yang Berbahagia Datuk Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan, by his own admission.

I am sure you will agree with me that such an offer is tantamount to fair dinkum conflict of interest, collusion and corruption.

Thank you,

AZLAN ADNAN

Founder, Green Party of Malaysia