KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang-PN) has opined that Australian rare earth miner Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd “might as well” shutter its factories in Malaysia if the government refuses to drop conditions for its operating licence.
Debating Budget 2023 at the committee level in Parliament today, Wan Fayhsal urged the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to reconsider the conditions imposed on Lynas, stating that the company’s presence here allows the nation to be a player in the rare earth sector.
“To me, (Lynas) might as well cease (operations in Malaysia) if the government refuses to drop the four conditions (imposed on the company).
“Just stop our local employees from working and let Malaysia not be involved in the rare earth processing industry. This is a backwards (stance),” he said, adding that there is “no point” in Lynas being in the country if cracking and leeching activities are not allowed.
It was reported last month that the ministry is considering a letter of appeal from Lynas to cancel the conditions for its operating licence, with its minister Chang Lih Kang stating that the government has not shut down Lynas.
This came about after the government rejected Lynas’ application to drop four licence terms related to the water leach purification residue after 2023, cracking and leaching activities at the Lynas advanced materials plant, and the importation of lanthanide concentrate from Australia.
The decision means that Lynas will not produce additional radioactive waste after July 2023.
Previously, a group of around 200 pro-Lynas supporters gathered to demonstrate their support for the company’s operations, claiming that Putrajaya’s conditional renewal of the company’s licence was “unfair” and “not based on facts”.
The group also said Lynas’ critics were “insincere” as they had not bothered to reach out to those living around the vicinity of the firm’s plant for their thoughts on criticism of its operations and alleged hazards.
Besides that, Lynas acting supervisor Mohd Badrul Hisham Zulkifli lamented that the efforts of workers involved in the cracking and leaching department will have been for naught if the government insists on disallowing the activity.
Lynas has claimed that it was being “targeted” by Putrajaya over radioactive waste concerns despite the company being regulated by a government agency, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board. – The Vibes, March 21, 2023
