Govt Still Studying To Build Incinerator In Broga, Says Ong Ka Ting.
The Government is still the studying the possibility of building an incinerator in Broga, Semenyih, to manage and treat solid waste.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the Cabinet had several times discussed the incinerator project in Broga and other alternatives that could save cost and is conducive to the environment. The Government would reconsider building the incinerator if there were other environment-friendly alternatives with low maintenance cost.
Actually the government is in a lose-lose situation on this issue. If they don't get an incinerator up and running soon, then things are going to get messy and the stink that would raise would be worse than any the citizens can think up. However if the damned thing is placed in any area, the residents there are going to cry 'foul' and vehement protests are bound to ensue. This, inspite of almost everyone agreeing that an incinerator is absolutely essential for the environment and for the public's health!
It is at times like this that the race-based politics that we practice becomes a handicap. If a Chinese minister, in this case Ong, is seen to push through the project in Broga, then the Chinese residents there are bound to accuse him of selling out the race! As MCA president that is a big no-no. If a non-Chinese minister does it then the entire race is being discriminated by the 'others'. Since everything we do is interpreted from a race angle there can be no satisfactory solution to this stalemate.
My instinct tells me that when the environmental consequences of delaying the project becomes too close for comfort, then the government will be forced to set aside narrow, short-term political considerations and forcibly build the incinerator at Broga. Of course after a period of local upheaval, cursing the government and the MCA and running to the DAP for urgent help, the residents will finally come round to accepting it as their fate. At least until the next elections.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the Cabinet had several times discussed the incinerator project in Broga and other alternatives that could save cost and is conducive to the environment. The Government would reconsider building the incinerator if there were other environment-friendly alternatives with low maintenance cost.
Actually the government is in a lose-lose situation on this issue. If they don't get an incinerator up and running soon, then things are going to get messy and the stink that would raise would be worse than any the citizens can think up. However if the damned thing is placed in any area, the residents there are going to cry 'foul' and vehement protests are bound to ensue. This, inspite of almost everyone agreeing that an incinerator is absolutely essential for the environment and for the public's health!
It is at times like this that the race-based politics that we practice becomes a handicap. If a Chinese minister, in this case Ong, is seen to push through the project in Broga, then the Chinese residents there are bound to accuse him of selling out the race! As MCA president that is a big no-no. If a non-Chinese minister does it then the entire race is being discriminated by the 'others'. Since everything we do is interpreted from a race angle there can be no satisfactory solution to this stalemate.
My instinct tells me that when the environmental consequences of delaying the project becomes too close for comfort, then the government will be forced to set aside narrow, short-term political considerations and forcibly build the incinerator at Broga. Of course after a period of local upheaval, cursing the government and the MCA and running to the DAP for urgent help, the residents will finally come round to accepting it as their fate. At least until the next elections.
posted by The Malaysian. at 7/15/2006 06:08:00 PM
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