PSC on Lynas can proceed with its work, says speaker

The parliamentary select committee (PSC) on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) project can carry out the task entrusted to it despite the absence of opposition participation, said Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.  

However, he said the committee cannot discuss matters that are before the court to avoid sub judice.

Pandikar Amin ( left ) said this in response to a question from Kamaruddin Jaafar (PAS-Tumpat) who claimed that the setting up of this committee contravened Standing Order 36(2).

This standing order states that a PSC should not be set up if in the view of the speaker it would jeopardise the interests of interested parties because of court action.

Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the owner of Lamp which is located in Gebeng near Kuantan, may be affected by court action following 10 local residents applying for an order of certiorari to set aside the decision by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board to issue a Temporary Operating Licence to Lamp to operate a rare earths processing factory.

Pandikar Amin said the same stand was taken in connection with the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) issue, whereby he had called up Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson (Azmi Khalid) to let him know that the PAC cannot discuss anything that was tantamount to sub judice.

In the NFC issue, its chairperson Dr Muhamad Salleh Ismail has been charged with two counts of committing criminal breach of trust and two counts of violating the Companies Act. NFC was tasked with running the National Feedlot Centre aimed at helping the country reduce beef imports.

The government had provided a RM250 million soft loan for the project.

Pandikar Amin said that any committee formed by Parliament was only an “extension of arms” of Parliament and as such, were subject to the same standing orders.

He also held that the opposition’s boycott of the PSC on Lamp was politically motivated and not because of sub judice matters.

He added that the PSC on Lamp would be made up of five Barisan Nasional MPs and an Independent MP.

- Bernama