WHEN the Pahang authorities briefed Chinese investors about the landmark multi-million-ringgit Malaysia-China industrial park in Gebeng, none of them raised concern over the Lynas rare earth plant that had just opened in the vicinity.
In fact, they wanted the industrial park to be moved closer to the Kuantan port and nearer to the Lynas plant.
The only group that seems unable to make up its mind on the Lynas project is Pakatan Rakyat. There have been incredible flip-flops by the opposition bloc, the latest by Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president Fuziah Salleh.
Drawing on Pakatan's election manifesto, she insisted last week that Pakatan would shut down the plant if it ever came to power.
"We shall shut down Lynas once Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the Federal Government," the first-term Kuantan member of parliament declared.
Didn't she realise that her own leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, recently came out to publicly renege on Pakatan's promise to halt the plant just weeks after it unveiled its manifesto?
In a major policy reversal, Anwar told Australia's Sydney Morning Herald: "If Lynas can come out with a convincing argument that there is no risk to public safety and security, I will be the first to champion the plant there."
Anwar is probably aware that all scientific studies prove that the plant is environmentally safe and that further opposition to the project is not likely to gain much political momentum.
Fuziah, a firm critic of Lynas, may also soon realise that Lynas is a non-issue, as far as Kuantan voters are concerned.
In the 2008 general election, Fuziah defeated incumbent Kuantan MP Datuk Fu Ah Kiow with a majority of just 1,826 votes. Ironically, the three state seats in the Kuantan parliamentary constituency were won by Barisan Nasional.
The Lynas episode illustrates the government's point on why voters should not trust Pakatan when it comes to keeping its promises.
INABILITY to deliver on its promises is one of the seven great sins of the opposition, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Exposing Pakatan's sins of omission and commission at a mammoth gathering in Kelantan on Friday, the BN leader also listed out six other sins committed by the opposition. They are:
ALLOWING the term "Allah" to be used by non-Muslims;
ALLOWING DAP leaders to get land in Lojing Highlands in Kelantan;
INDISCRIMINATE clearing of highland forests;
PAS compromising on its own Islamic struggle;
PKR'S Tian Chua's remarks on the armed intrusion into Lahad Datu; and,
THE unholy political alliance between Pas, PKR and DAP.
Opposition supporters must be fuming over a series of blunders by their leaders, the latest being Tian Chua, whose uncalled for remarks on the Lahad Datu incident had crossed the line and could cost some votes for Pakatan.
At the same time, there are some unanswered questions on the links between Anwar and Moro National Liberation Front's Nur Misuari following their secret meeting in Jakarta in July last year.
Both must have met on the sidelines of an international forum on "reconciliation" put together by Strategic Review, a quarterly journal of policy and ideas published in Jakarta. Other top speakers included Jose Ramos-Horta, the former president of Timor Leste, and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
WikiLeaks' revelation on the link between Anwar and Misuari that went as far back as 2007 and even longer must have certainly raised eyebrows, both in Manila and Putrajaya. WikiLeaks had exposed diplomatic cables sent by the United States embassy in Manila to the US State Department.
This general election could be Anwar's last hurrah in his bid for power. But with a series of unpleasant events in recent weeks that have really tested Pakatan's mettle, the opposition bloc could be struggling to repeat its 2008 performance.
Read more: The opposition's seven deadly sins - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/the-opposition-s-seven-deadly-sins-1.236177#ixzz2No56Dxp9
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