Stop nuclear power and generate green energy – Sepa

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KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Environment Protection Association (Sepa) is urging the government to ‘stop all feasibility studies’ on nuclear power and re-channel the funds into the generation of green energy.

Sepa president Wong Tack said Energy, Water and Green Technology Minister Peter Chin should stop focusing on nuke power.

“The minister should call a stop on the feasibility study on nuclear energy and channel the funds into creating an environment to allow these technologies to take off,” he said yesterday when commenting on the nuclear power plant crisis in Japan.

Wong said Japan was a lesson to learn from and causing environmental damage for the sake of progress should not be the way.

“A country needs to base its economy on being low-carbon and to depend on green energy sources,” he said.

Recalling the recently scrapped coal power plant that was to be built in Sabah, Wong said that the public should be wary of experts and engineers that could be pushing for nuclear energy, claiming it to be safe and needed in the country for the sake of progress.

“Japan, in order to increase its productivity and progress, built this nuclear plant and in the end when something happens, it can affect not only the locals but also regionally and internationally,” he said.

Wong also said that Malaysia is not capable of handling nuclear energy and any disaster could have adverse effects that could last for generations.

“If Japan cannot handle it, what more for Malaysia?” he said.

When asked whether he would re-ignite Green-SURF (Sabah United for Re-powering the Future) to push against nuclear energy in the country, Wong said, “We will work very hard with other NGOs.

“We will contact those in the peninsular and we will campaign against nuclear energy.

“We don’t need to take that kind of risk. We should look at our potentials for green energy and go beyond to be based in that industry,” he said.