As industrialisation spreads across Asia, waste and toxic hazards accumulate at a disturbing rate and pose a major threat. Many developed nations partially relieve themselves of the burden of toxic waste by exporting undesirable industries and processes to less-industrialised and less-regulated countries. The “grow now, clean up later” approach to development in Asia has established an environmental menace that may haunt the region for decades to come.
Disregarding people's well-being, irresponsible governments of less-industrialised nations eagerly welcome polluting industries for short-term gains. The government appears to have exploited the legal system to protect the interest of TNCs. Government leadership — using shrewd divide-and-rule tactics with Third World nationalist sentiments as a crutch — short-sightedly attempt to weaken the environmental lobby by making extravagant allegations that it is not only misguided but somehow a puppet of Western pressure groups. Though the attack may be well-intentioned, weakening the environmental lobby may result in long-term environmental damage that Asian nations will not be able to pay their way out of.
In Bukit Merah, interestingly, the 150-odd ARE company-based union members defended the company position on toxic hazards. This may be a reflection of the state of labour activism in Malaysia and other parts of Asia; arguably workers are often more concerned with immediate economic interest, understandably in the context of common economic hardship. It is true, however, only in a limited sense: the willingness of ARE employees, or a large section of the Malaysian public for that matter, to support the company is a reflection of the depth and influence of the so-called “development myth”. TNC exploitation of developing countries is usually embraced by host governments in the name of “national interest and development", while questions of who ultimately benefits most, and who ultimately makes any sacrifices, are carefully avoided.
This leads to important questions facing workers and labour organizers: How do workers position themselves as part of a wider social movement? Should workers’ prime concerns be essentially economic? What is their role in environmental issues, gender, culture, race, and human rights? These are imminent problems that labour groups in Asia must respond to.
If such questions are deferred, Asian countries may repeat mistakes in national and economic development that have left a legacy of environmental, and cultural damage scarring many developed countries, aggravated by rampant consumerism, an unprincipled get-rich-quick mentality and excessive individualism.
Asian governments today are dashing headlong into similar circumstances. To ensure more appropriate and sustainable development, Asian nations must begin to develop a process of people’s participation and control over all levels of national development. This process must go hand-in-hand with the process to create a democratic political framework in which freedom of association and expression is enshrined.
Thus, it becomes a matter of increasing urgency for labour groups in Bukit Merah, Malaysia, and elsewhere, develop a broad and forward-looking approach to their participation in development issues. The consequences of doing the opposite and following the government line of “leave it to us, we know what's best for you”, may lead to irreparable damage.
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