Anti-Lynas group Himpunan Hijau has refused to dismantle its blockade command centre at Balok, Kuantan, despite the authorities serving a notice on them yesterday ordering them to do so within 48 hours.

occupy balok gebeng anti lynas 230612 2 Instead, the group will await the arrival of the officers from the Kuantan Lands and Mines Department tomorrow, to seek extension to the order.

"We will discuss with them and will ask for an extension", said Rafar Ahmad, commander of the centre when contacted by Malaysiakini today.

According to him, eight officers from the department arrived at the centre to serve the order under section 425 of the National Land Code 1965 at 12.30pm yesterday.

“They gave us 48 hours to dismantle the base and asked us to clean up the place,” he added.

He said that they will be facing a jail sentence of not more than one year, a fine of not less than RM10,000 or both if they refused to comply.

Bid to negotiate extension tomorrow

However, Rafar said that they had decided to try to negotiate with the officers when they arrive at the base again tomorrow, in order to extend the time limit.

While they are not asking for any specific time frame, he hopes that the base will be there at least until the 300km drive campaign, which will take place on New Year’s Eve, is over.

Prior to this order, he noted that the base did not face any harassment from the authorities.

“The officers from the Kuantan Municipal Council and police personnel were here, but they didn’t ask any questions. They just came and left,” he said.

Himpunan Hijau had placed two 10 feet by 20 feet containers on a three-acre plot of land in Balok last week, as its command centre for the anti-Lynas campaign.

The base is located beside one of the main roads leading into Gebeng industrial zone, which is the site of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant.

The group will hold the 300km drive campaign on New Year’s Eve, expecting to swarm the plant with thousands of cars .