Pejuang's women's wing leader Che Asmah Ibrahim has refuted claims by her PKR counterpart Fuziah Salleh on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's decision to allow Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd to continue operations.
In a statement today, Che Asmah (above) said Mahathir had acted upon the advice of the government's Lynas Advance Materials Plant Operations Evaluation Executive Committee set up in 2018.
Che Asmah said the committee did not recommend the closure of Lynas' refinery plant in Gebeng, Pahang.
"As prime minister, Mahathir acted based on the recommendations of the committee and this was endorsed by the cabinet. The decision was 'evidence-based' and not based on sentiments or perception.
"After the change of administration due to the Sheraton Move, the government has not briefed us on the status of recommendations by the executive committee. Fuziah (as the Kuantan MP) should be asking the government for an update," she said.
Sustainable development plan
Che Asmah argued that Mahathir's administration had provided a plan for the sustainable development of the rare earth industry which would provide development and investments.
Che Asmah was a member of the evaluation committee, specialising in solid waste and hazardous material management as well as environmental policy and law.
Other members are Mazlin Mokhtar, Jamal Hisham Hashim, Maketab Mohamed, Anita Abdul Rahman and Muzamir Hasan. The committee was formed in October 2018 and produced a report in December that year.
Che Asmah was responding to Fuziah's speech in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday where the latter said Mahathir refused to shutdown Lynas' plant when he was in power.
The Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration had granted Lynas permission to build a permanent disposal facility to store the water leach purification (WLP) residue in Gebeng. - Mkini
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