The Malaysian government and Lynas Corporation never engaged the residents of Kuantan regarding the massive rare earth plant since the release of the IAEA report, said ‘Save Malaysia Stop Lynas’ (SMSL) committee chairman Tan Bun Teet.

He said that the Australian mining giant never engaged with the local community, although the group had met its CEO, Nicholas Curtis, at Lynas headquarters in early July this year.

anti-lynas pc 150911 clement chin; tan bun teet, lee chee hong “Since the trip until now, there has been no actual serious engagement except some public talks organised by certain organisation in Kuantan, but never in the name of Lynas,” said Tan ( centre in photo ) during a press conference at Kuala Lumpur today.

When asked whether the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) or the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had engaged with the local community regarding the same matter, Tan answered “no” without any hesitation.

azlan The IAEA report prepared by an expert review panel, which was released on June 30, stated that the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng Industrial Zone, 25km from the capital of Pahang, has complied with international radioactive safety requirements.

The panel also stressed that the Malaysian government, AELB and Lynas must first implement 11 recommendations before it could start operations.

Among the recommendations is to require AELB and Lynas to enhance the understanding among local stakeholders regarding the massive rare earth plant.

The plant is now getting set for the second phase of the construction, which is expected to be finished by the end of this year.