PARLIAMENT | Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) has urged the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to reconsider the conditions imposed on Lynas.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Wan Fayhsal (above) called on the ministry to relax conditions, especially for Lynas to relocate its cracking and leaching facility out of Malaysia before this July.
“Lynas would be useless in Malaysia if the cracking and leaching facility is closed down in the country,” he said when debating the Supply Bill 2023 at the committee level in the august House today.
“What we want is Lynas that has transfer technology. Give (Lynas) the relaxation so that we can also become a player in the rare earth industry.”
Wan Fayhsal, who is also PN Youth chief, expressed hope that the rare earth processing sector in Malaysia can help the nation to become one of the main players in the industry.
“Without rare earth elements, there’s nothing that we can do. Everything, including telephones, MacBooks and even electric vehicles is made up of the element.”
Last month, the government renewed the operating licence for Lynas’ operating plant in Gebeng, Kuantan for three years, effective from March 3.
However, the licence was renewed with the same conditions imposed by the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020.
The key conditions include relocating the cracking and leaching facility out of Malaysia before this July, after which it will no longer be allowed to import lanthanide concentrate into the country.
Another key condition would be to construct a permanent disposal facility (PDF) to store the existing waste from when it began operating in 2012.
Ministry considering Lynas’ appeal
On Feb 17, Lynas Malaysia filed an appeal to minister Chang Lih Kang to review the conditions.
About a week later, he said the ministry was considering Lynas’ appeal to drop the conditions of its operating licence in the country.
The Lynas Malaysia plant is the world’s largest single rare earth processing facility and the only scale producer of separated rare earth outside China.
The rare earth products produced by Lynas are strategic resources for the US, Australia, and Japan, used in the manufacturing of smartphones, electric cars, engines for military jets, and others.
China is the biggest supplier of rare earth, with a 60 percent share of global production while other suppliers include the US, Myanmar, Australia, and Madagascar.
When the trade war between US and China escalated, the US and its allies became concerned about rare earth processing industries outside of China, including in Malaysia. - Mkini
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