Pro-Lynas material surface ahead of green rally

With hours left before the anti-Lynas rally on Sunday morning, pro-Lynas material have emerged around Kuantan.

At midnight, three men were seen distributing pro-Lynas material at Teluk Cempedak, less than an hour after anti-Lynas activists and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim left after an impromtu beach concert.

When queried, the men declined to be named but claimed that they were "contracted" by Lynas, the company which is building a rare earth processing plant in Gebeng, about 10km from town.

However, this claim cannot be independently verified.

One of the material was in the form of a mock cardboard iPhone with the words "This gadget got rare earth".

The back of the cardboard read: "Many of your favourite electronic gadgets contain rare earth material yet you love it so much.

"Measures have been taken to ensure the products and waste produced by Lynas' rare earth refinery factory in Gebeng will not harm humans or damaged the environment."

It also called on anti-Lynas groups to "stop the hypocrisy" and for Kuantan residents to "say no to those who say no to Lynas".

The trio who distributed the material added that they had been doing so at various places in Kuantan since 8pm on Saturday.

Mock cardboard iPad
Another material was in the form of a mock cardboard iPad quoting PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang as recognising its Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat as a nuclear expert and urging people not to "ask a rubber expert about palm oil".

The back of the mock iPad quoted Che Rosli's TV3 interview on Aug 24 in which he broke ranks and accused his Pakatan Rakyat partners of fear-mongering.

"They are frightening the people by saying that Lynas is a nuclear facility but it only processes natural resources which is rare earth from Mount Weld, which radiation level is even lower than a tin mine," he was quoted as saying.

Che Rosli had last Friday again reiterated that the RM700 million Lynas Advanced Material Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng is safe if all precautions are taken.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had early this month approved a temporary operating licence (TOL) for Lamp, sparking outrage from the public which culminated in today's protest.

Once in full operation, the Lamp is expected to supply one third of the global rare earth demand outside of China.

However, environmental activists are concerned that the storage of its Water Leech Purification waste, which contains radioactive thorium and uranium, may leak and threaten the safety of the local community.