The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng, Kuantan is the safest and most advanced rare earth processing plant in the world, said parliamentary select committee (PSC) on Lynas chairperson Khaled Nordin after a visit to the place today.

NONE Citing reports by experts comparing Lynas’ plant with others in the world, Khaled described the plant as a “state-of-the-art” facility.

“The existence of this plant will help Malaysia migrate to the 21st century and gain know-how in terms of technological advancement, research and development and human capital,” he said during a press conference.

The event was held after Khaled led a delegation of six PSC members to a three-hour briefing session by Lynas at the plant today, followed by an on-site visit to several facilities that lasted for an hour.

NONE Khaled, who is also the higher education minister, defended Lynas as a trustworthy company and slammed its detractors for making unfounded allegations.

He reiterated that the location of Lynas is 6km away from housing areas; its decision to build its factory in Malaysia is viable; pointing out that the company has gone a step further to produce a radiological impact assessment.

When asked whether he was satisfied with Lynas’ presentation today, he said: “Yes, very satisfied. Because they were more than open to our scrutiny.”

“According to what (Lynas) told me, allegations that they haven’t got the Australian licence is not true. They got it but chose not to operate there because it was not viable.

“They also did not choose China because it imposed export restrictions on their business,” he added.

However, Khaled stressed that he will take into account the feedback from the public before reaching any conclusion.

Khalid clarifies 'safest in the world' remark

The PSC will conduct two sessions of public hearing in Universiti Malaysia Pahang today and tomorrow.

In stark contrast to the last site visit to Lamp, the Lynas management today allowed journalists to come down from the buses and take a closer look at their various facilities.

Meanwhile, Khaled revealed that Lynas will allocate one percent of their annual revenue, amounting to RM100 million, for waste management, research and development purposes on a 50:50 ratio.

“The Atomic Energy Licensing Board will take the 50 percent chalk for waste management and to improve their role as a regulator and an effective enforcer,” he said.

Later, at a press conference in the evening, Khaled clarified that his remark that Lynas is “the safest in the world” was based on information given by Lynas. He stressed that this was not PSC’s stance.

Khaled added that he was merely informing the public what had transpired at the PSC-Lynas meeting, and a decision has not been made on the matter.

“After we have completed the public consultation, we will seek input from the experts and academicians before we put everything into a report and present it to Parliament,” he said.