He was invited to be a panelist at a forum about nuclear organized by a group called AMAN.
He posted the a above information and instantly I said yes and I will be there. Then I searched in the internet about AMAN and bumped into their facebook page and I liked that page immediately. Then I posted something about potentials of energy efficiency from IEA as alternatives for nuclear power plants.
My stand in nuclear for power in Malaysia has been the same and I did said it to myself consistently and to me fellow EE friends to that if I need to go to the street to protest on nuclear for power, I will.
Then this AMAN's leader, Anas started to communicate with me through facebook and later we agreed to meet to have more clear picture about AMAN and how possibly I can play some roles with my background in EE.
We finally met at Bangsar on a Saturday and joined by few more AMAN members...all of them are much much younger than me surely. Anas himself just 24 years old and all of them looked very objective, motivated and excited on what they are trying to pursue under AMAN.
It did not take me a long time after listening to the objectives and goals of AMAN to decide that they can count me in with them.We exchanged some ideas and thoughts on what each of us can contribute to champion the move to stop nuclear for power in Malaysia. I believe finally Allah has answered my prayer by giving me another platform to pursue EE agenda for my beloved country and now coupled with the nuclear for power issue which can strengthen our case for the public to pay attention and for the government to listen and act to concerns raised by Malaysians.
So, AMAN finally was launched on 23 December 2014 at the forum and I was there to witness that.On top of that I was also spontaneously invited to address the crowd in few minutes and I highlighted my concerns on why the government is still insisting nuclear for power when there are other options?
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| With AMAN chairman Dato' Dr. Ronald McCoy |
Honestly I have never been in this kind of event or group and therefore I could not tell either the launching was a success or not but by being positive about it, I believe everything has to start somewhere and we will take it from there. As expected, I did not think that any government related/controlled media or mainstream media will cover the event but I saw some reporters from online news portals were there to make some coverage.
I know what I was there and know exactly why I am in to be with AMAN and at this time after many years of trying to pursue EE agenda through all other possible channels and ways, I don't see any harm for me to come forward through AMAN. We have the same goals anyway....for a better future of Malaysia without nuclear as long as possible.
The dialogue ended with the a strong endorsement to AMAN's key arguments on why Malaysia don't need nuclear power plants now with options that we have on the table.The government must stop the initiative to build nuclear power plant and focus on maximizing the potentials from EE and RE sources.
PRESS
STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 23rd DECEMBER 2014
ANAK MALAYSIA ANTI
NUKLEAR (AMAN) is a grassroots citizen movement that is convinced that
nuclear power is not cheap, clean or safe and that it is not required
for the generation of electricity in Malaysia. AMAN therefore rejects
the construction of any nuclear power plant (NPP) in Malaysia.AMAN is
aware of the ongoing dissemination of false information by the nuclear
industry and other vested interests and that there has not been any
genuine transparency of the government's intentions nor sincere public
consultation. Our country must not make the serious mistake of investing
in and constructing a nuclear power plant, particularly when there is
no existing method of safely disposing of long-lasting radioactive
nuclear waste, which will threaten the health of future generations of
Malaysians.AMAN urges the government to abort EPP11: Deploying Nuclear
Energy for Power Generation, which is part of the Economic
Transformation Programme (ETP), or any other similar plan, but instead
concentrate and focus efforts on renewable energy and energy
efficiency.
AMAN has taken this position, based on 7 key factors:
1. A
nuclear power plant is an enormously expensive and economically unwise
project, from the construction and operating costs to the management of
nuclear waste and eventual decommissioning of the plant. Factor in the
dangerous and high cost of uranium required and you have an economically
backward move. The International Atomic Energy Agency has stated that
it will take at the very least $100 billion over the next 25 years to
decommission 40 nuclear power plants.
2. With the increasing
likelihood of serious natural disasters as a result of climate change,
NPPs will prove to be vulnerable to natural disasters and accidents, as
with the recent Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. There is also no
100% guarantee that a NPP is safe from human error, sabotage or
terrorist attack. Malaysia is not equipped to handle such catastrophic
nuclear disasters which will make large areas of the country
uninhabitable for hundreds of years.
3. Nuclear power is not safe
and has proven to be a ticking time bomb. Proponents of the nuclear
industry claim that nuclear power plants are safe, and yet the human and
environmental disaster of Fukushima continues to worsen and defies any
solution. It cannot be over emphasised that the greatest danger to human
health comes from radiation emitted by nuclear waste, which remains
radioactive for thousands of years and yet cannot be disposed of safely,
ever since the beginning of the nuclear age.
4. There is no need
to build a nuclear power plant to generate electricity as Malaysia's
existing and planned electricity by other means is sufficient. Instead,
there should be a concerted effort to explore into Renewable Energy for
greener growth, as well as energy efficiency which can reduce up to 30%
of power consumption.
5. Apart from China, the rate of
construction of NPPs is skydiving, with only one NPP being constructed
in the United States. By law, Germany will end its use of nuclear power
by 2022, and France plans to do the same.
6. A nuclear power
plant will make Malaysia dependent on foreign technology and dependence
on foreign supply of nuclear materials will impact on energy security.
7. A nuclear power plant will open the doors to the misuse of
plutonium, leading to nuclear weapons proliferation, although Malaysia
has always opposed the use of nuclear weapons and advocates the
elimination of nuclear weapons. Globally, the use of nuclear power as
an energy source is in decline. In 2003, there were 438 operating NPPs,
but today only 388 remain in operation. The world's use of nuclear
energy has dropped from 17.8% in 1996 to 10.8% in the year 2013. Since
the year 2000, the growth per annum of solar based energy has been 25%,
wind 43%, and nuclear -0.4%.Germany has been very successful in its
effort to phase out nuclear energy and is now shifting its policy
towards renewable energy. France, which has always been a strong
proponent and role model for nuclear energy, has passed a motion in
Parliament to cut its dependency on nuclear from 75% to 50% and to
increase its dependency on renewable energy from 15% to 40%.In light of
the above, there is concrete evidence to suggest that Malaysia should
scrap whatever plans it has to go nuclear, as it is a threat to energy
security and the risks totally outweigh any perceived benefit.
We urge the government to do the right thing for the benefits of generations to come.
DATO’ DR. RONALD MCCOY
CHAIRMAN
ANAK MALAYSIA ANTI NUKLEAR (AMAN)
and then followed by some coverage by online news portals such as Malayonline
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/putrajaya-snubbed-cheaper-energy-savings-scheme-for-nuclear-plans-forum-tol
and Malaysiakini http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/284389
Hope all this will start something to bring up the real issues and solutions available for larger number of Malaysians. I will be all the way with AMAN in this as long as they stick to common goals and don't get distracted or manipulated by some parties which can see the excitement and commitment shown by this young generation as opportunities to insert their own agenda.
Nuclear power plants are not like the government or PM where once we have one, we can change or make it weaker through elections.
Once we have nuclear plants, it will be there to make us to suffer for hundreds years to come for tiny mistakes that we definitely will make.
WE HAVE OTHER OPTIONS BUT THE GOVERNMENT IS SIMPLY DENYING AND HIDING IT and SCARE US look like there are no options other than nuclear.
It's our call and it's for our country because if we don't do anything to stop it, NO ONE WILL!
Let's do this AMAN! and let's join us MALAYSIANS!
TOGETHER WE MAKE OUR COUNTRY A BETTER, GREENER, SAFER AND HAPPIER PLACE TO LIVE NOW AND OUR FUTURE CHILDREN!
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