A major developer is considering pulling out of a multi-million ringgit resort and housing project near Kuantan in the wake of the approval of the temporary operating licence (TOL) for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp).
According to a report in Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau, STG Group director Alex Tan Siong Seng said the company will cancel its Kuantan Gold Coast project if the government insists on going ahead with the rare earths refining project.
The move is to cut potential losses and safeguard the interests of STC investors, the newspaper quoted Lee as saying.
He said STG Group had already spent RM3 million on the project and would face losses of between RM20 million and RM30 million if Lamp commences operations.
Meanwhile, Pahang PKR central committee member Lee Chean Chung raised fears that Lamp's operations would affect the economy in Kuantan.
"Kuantan is a tourism city. If the rare earths refinery starts operations, it will have a domino effect that will cause unimaginable impact on Kuantan's economy, whether it is on fish, other seafood, bird's nests, plantations, property or tourism," Lee said.
He said the multi-million ringgit Kuantan Gold Coast project in Sungai Balok - a few kilometres from Gebeng where the Lynas plant is located - would create between 500 and 600 jobs, mostly benefiting the local people.
"On the other hand, Lynas has only created about 200 jobs to date. It has a 12-year tax holiday and was exempted from stamp duty for the purchase of the land (for its refinery) in the Gebeng Industrial Zone.
"In addition, Lynas is given a grant worth about RM1.2 million to train Malaysian workers."
According to a report in Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau, STG Group director Alex Tan Siong Seng said the company will cancel its Kuantan Gold Coast project if the government insists on going ahead with the rare earths refining project.
The move is to cut potential losses and safeguard the interests of STC investors, the newspaper quoted Lee as saying.He said STG Group had already spent RM3 million on the project and would face losses of between RM20 million and RM30 million if Lamp commences operations.
Meanwhile, Pahang PKR central committee member Lee Chean Chung raised fears that Lamp's operations would affect the economy in Kuantan.
"Kuantan is a tourism city. If the rare earths refinery starts operations, it will have a domino effect that will cause unimaginable impact on Kuantan's economy, whether it is on fish, other seafood, bird's nests, plantations, property or tourism," Lee said.
He said the multi-million ringgit Kuantan Gold Coast project in Sungai Balok - a few kilometres from Gebeng where the Lynas plant is located - would create between 500 and 600 jobs, mostly benefiting the local people.
"On the other hand, Lynas has only created about 200 jobs to date. It has a 12-year tax holiday and was exempted from stamp duty for the purchase of the land (for its refinery) in the Gebeng Industrial Zone.
"In addition, Lynas is given a grant worth about RM1.2 million to train Malaysian workers."
Recreational park proposal a 'sick joke'
Lee also slammed Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan for refusing to recognise the dangers caused by the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) factory in Bukit Merah, Perak.
"Raja Aziz actually said that the Health Ministry did not have historical data of leukemia in the area, thus there is no basis for comparison to determine whether ARE caused leukemia.
"He even had the nerve to say that since local resident Lai Kwan (left in photo) was working for a sub-contractor (in the plant), her mentally-challenged son Kok Leong was thus the responsibility of the contractor, not the government.
"Does this mean that if Kuantan residents near Lamp have any radiation-related illnesses, the government which approved the plant does not have any responsibility in the matter?"
Lee also slammed Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan for refusing to recognise the dangers caused by the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) factory in Bukit Merah, Perak.
"Raja Aziz actually said that the Health Ministry did not have historical data of leukemia in the area, thus there is no basis for comparison to determine whether ARE caused leukemia."He even had the nerve to say that since local resident Lai Kwan (left in photo) was working for a sub-contractor (in the plant), her mentally-challenged son Kok Leong was thus the responsibility of the contractor, not the government.
"Does this mean that if Kuantan residents near Lamp have any radiation-related illnesses, the government which approved the plant does not have any responsibility in the matter?"
Lee demanded that Raja Aziz apologises for his statement.
"The statement that a recreational park can be built there (at the Bukit Kledang waste disposal site) is a sick joke. Even the ARE parent company, Mitsubishi, has acknowledged the Bukit Merah ARE debacle, and this can't be covered up by such statements from Raja Aziz."
Lee said he does not understand why the government keeps favouring Lamp despite many reasons having been raised against it.
"Maybe Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, who has kept issuing statements, knows. We should ask him when we get the chance."
"The statement that a recreational park can be built there (at the Bukit Kledang waste disposal site) is a sick joke. Even the ARE parent company, Mitsubishi, has acknowledged the Bukit Merah ARE debacle, and this can't be covered up by such statements from Raja Aziz."
Lee said he does not understand why the government keeps favouring Lamp despite many reasons having been raised against it.
"Maybe Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, who has kept issuing statements, knows. We should ask him when we get the chance."
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