The Socialist Progressive Front (SPF) issued the challenge after Utilities Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said it is “completely safe” for residents to live near such towers, despite studies showing the opposite.

SPF’s Chua Cheong Wee said Zairil should prove that he was not a Nimby (a person who objects to the siting of something perceived as unpleasant or hazardous in their own back yard) and put the money where his mouth was.

“I want to ask if there are telco towers near Zairil’s home. Perhaps there are some within 30m? If there aren’t any, we feel he should live next to one.

“We are not against 5G or any latest technology. But we need to be sure if it is safe.

“And the residents must be consulted first before it is installed near their homes,” he said at a press conference with co-member and former assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu.

Chua also challenged Zairil to an open debate on the matter, asking him to bring along experts in the field.

Recently, a group of 20 residents from Sungai Pinang and Tanjung Bungah picketed against the state government for placing telco towers as close as 30m to 60m from their homes.

Some of them claimed the city council did not ask for their feedback before placing pilot 5G antennas in the vicinity of their apartments. The residents and SPF submitted a memorandum to the chief minister earlier this week.

However, Zairil told the group that telco towers were safe and told them to show evidence from government departments or a medical doctor if they had suffered from illness due to their presence.

Chua reminded Zairil that the International Agency for Research on Cancer had said that wireless radio frequency or RF could cause cancer.

He said Zairil kept using outdated International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection findings from 1998 as a defence on why the telco towers were safe.

In an immediate response, Zairil said the “science on the matter” was clear, that telco towers were safe as allowed by international agencies.

“As with all scientific subjects, there will always be outlier findings. But do we go with the 99% or the 1%?

“As a responsible government we need to follow the guidance of the expert agencies such as the health, nuclear, and communications regulators, including the World Health Organisation,” he said.

He said he had no objection over SPF’s proposed dialogue. “They are free to attend and ask as many questions as possible.”