Revoke Lynas’ licence over disposal site delay, MP tells KJ

 

The government has extended the operating licence of the Lynas plant in Kuantan, Pahang, to March 2023.

PETALING JAYA: Bentong MP Wong Tack has urged science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin to revoke Lynas Corp’s licence to operate in Malaysia, after failing to determine a location for a proposed waste disposal plant by March 2.

In a statement, he said Khairy had told the Dewan Rakyat last year that Lynas’ licence would be revoked if it failed to commence development of the waste site from a year after the decision to extend its licence.

Its licence, which was set to expire on March 3 last year, had been extended another three years to March 2, 2023.

Wong Tack urged Khairy to uphold his promise and revoke Lynas’ licence, saying any delay to such a decision would be a “mockery” of the rule of law.

“The management of radioactive waste is not child’s play. Currently, there are close to a million tonnes of radioactive waste already generated and piled up in Lynas’ backyard.

“But here we are today, still being dragged in circles by the Department of Environment (DOE) and Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) around a 10-year-old issue of where to locate Lynas’ dumpsite,” he said.

He also urged the DOE to throw out Lynas’ environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed disposal site in Bukit Ketam, particularly since it is a water catchment area.

“One doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that placing a radioactive waste dump on a water catchment area for more than 700,000 households is not acceptable,” he said. - FMT