Gov't didn't consider TOL disclosure, says minister

The government has not considered making Lynas’ temporary operating licence (TOL) public, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Maximus Johnity Ongkili.

“That has not been raised to our attention yet, you see,” he said.

He was met by reporters after a function in Kuala Lumpur today where he was asked whether the TOL to operate the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) will be made public.

Speaking to reporters for only a minute, he added that the ministry would not issue any further statements on the matter.

“(There will be) no further statements. We have been issuing more and more, more and more. If anything technical, go to the Atomic Energy Licensing Board.

“It’s enough. It does not matter what we say. It is the same thing,” he said.

There has been confusion over the terms with the TOL as four cabinet ministers including Ongkili jointly issued three joint-press statements, since Febuary, that Lynas is bound by the terms of its license to remove the radioactive residue generated by Lamp.

However, Lynas Corperation executive chairperson Nicholas Curtis had reportedly said that there is no such provision and it is shipping the residue as safe recycled products out of the country on a voluntary basis.

This, he said, is to alley safety concerns in Malaysia.

The series of conflicting statements coming out from Putrajaya and Sydney on the interpretation of the TOL conditions are adding to the confusion, because the public has yet to scrutinise the TOL.