The Pahang Bar has established a sub-committee, comprising 20 lawyers, to provide an independent study on the rare earth refinery in Gebeng, near Kuantan, which has drawn a public outcry.

The sub-committee was established after the Pahang Bar unanimously passed a resolution aimed at “finding the truth” about the plant, during a extraordinary general meeting yesterday.

NONE Pahang Bar chairperson and sub-committee leader Hon Kai Ping said that the group aims to complete their report by late May. The report would be submitted to the Bar Council for further deliberation.

Among others, Hon said that a possible follow up to the report might be a class action suit.

“The bottom line is we want to know the truth. We want to find out from experts and we will write in to seek information from the Atomic Energy Licence Board (AELB) and (rare earth refinery owner) Lynas Corporation,” he said.

azlan Hon added that publicly-available international reports obtained by the sub-committee currently contradict Lynas’ claims , particularly on the content of radioactive thorium within the ore in Mount Weld, from which the minerals are mined.

As such, they are seeking the working paper presented by Lynas to AELB, as well as other supporting documents on this matter.

“If the agencies are not forthcoming then we will seek court orders to obtain the documents.

“We will also speak to the people at the fishing village nearest to the plant to seek their views, with the intention of representing them,” he said.

'Qualified experts please'

In a related development, Bar Council chairperson Lim Chee Wee fully supports the resolution by the Pahang Bar, and called on the government to value the health and environment of the people as much as it values investments.

"Whilst the Malaysian Bar welcomes the government's decision to form an international panel of ‘independent experts’, the Bar calls upon the government to ensure that only renowned and respected experts are appointed to the panel," he said.

The Gebeng rare earth plant that is currently under construction, is under intense public scrutiny particularly from locals who fear the potential exposure to radioactive waste, similar to the Bukit Merah rare earth plant in Perak that was eventually shut down in the 90s.