Opposition backs down

Nizar and company now sing a different tune on Vale project

IPOH: Opposition members who previously protested against the multi-billion-ringgit iron ore distribution centre in Teluk Rubiah, Lumut have softened their stance.

This came a day after Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir turned the tables on Pakatan Rakyat by reading out a letter written by his predecessor, Datuk Seri Muhammad Nizar Jamaluddin (Pas-pasir Panjang), expressing support for the project.

Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (Dapsitiawan) said he wanted the state government to ensure that the project by Brazilian mining company Vale SA would not adversely impact the environment.

“We demand that the state government conduct strict enforcement and monitoring,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the state assembly sitting here yesterday.

Muhammad Nizar said although he respected the state government’s decision to approve the project, it should not make accusations that this was done so during the Pakatan Rakyat administration.

Lauding the Opposition over its latest stance, Dr Zambry said all politicians should take responsibility to ensure the smooth implementation of the project.

He said Teluk Rubiah was chosen for the project because the location was suitable, adding that no more documents on the matter would be de-classified.

“We have to adhere to strict principles of governance and cannot simply de-classify documents at our whims and fancy,” he said.

In a letter dated Dec 17, 2008, written to Vale global marketing and commercial director Renato Neves, Muhammad Nizar had assured the company that it would provide the necessary support and assistance for the successful implementation of the project.

In PUTRAJAYA, Lumut MP Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha was reported as saying that the revelation of the letter showed that Muhammad Nizar was only out to mislead the people and instigate them against the project because Pakatan was no longer in power in Perak.

Describing the former mentri besar’s act as “very irresponsible”, he said: “Nizar has lost his credibility as a leader.”

Muhammad Nizar was among Pakatan leaders at a protest against the Vale project in Lumut last week.

Meanwhile, Perak MCA secretary Datuk Tan Chin Meng said Pakatan’s handling of the Vale project had shown that it was practising double standards for political mileage.

They supported the project while they were in power, and now they claimed the project was detrimental to the environment and the people’s health, he said.

Tan, who described Pakatan as a “two-faced, wishful thinking political party”, urged the group to stop misleading the people.