Pahang Mca Youth Mocks Pakatan Harapan After Lynas Licence Renewed

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The operating licence for Lynas Malaysia’s plant in Gebeng, Pahang was renewed yesterday, which will allow the company to continue importing and processing rare earths until March 2026.PETALING JAYA: Pahang MCA Youth has taken a swipe at Pakatan Harapan (PH) over its past objections to Lynas Malaysia a day after Putrajaya renewed the licence of the rare-earths company.
“Has the government ignored the health of the rakyat?” its chairman Wong Siew Mun said in a statement, referring to concerns PH had raised when it was in the opposition.
Between 2011 and 2013, the likes of PKR’s Fuziah Salleh and Wong Tack, then with DAP, were among Lynas’s vocal critics. The duo had also organised rallies to pressure the then Barisan Nasional (BN) administration to shut the plant down.
Fuziah had also in 2019 raised concerns that radioactive waste from the plant could affect the health of residents nearby.
Lynas Malaysia’s operating licence was renewed yesterday, which will allow the company to continue importing and processing rare earths in Gebeng, Pahang, until March 2026.
However, Lynas will have to ensure that the radioactive content in water leach purification (WLP) residue is below 1 becquerel (Bq) per gramme.
Wong also took issue with science, technology and innovation minister Chang Lih Kang who announced the licence renewal, saying the latter failed to explain how the ministry intended to guarantee that the radioactive waste would be properly handled.
“Will relevant reports be submitted to Parliament annually or at six-month intervals?”
She also called on the relevant government authorities to “show sincerity” by providing “reasonable details”. - FMT

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