Khaled Nordin today received flak from citizens as well as Pahang MCA representatives for heaping praises on the Lynas rare earth plant in Gebeng, rather than conducting a fair hearing.

Yesterday Khaled, chairing the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) called it “ state-of-art ” and the safest and the most advanced plant of its kind in the world.

NONE However, Pahang Chinese Assembly Hall youth committee member Kok Chee Hong delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to the remark that Khaled later defended as merely a repeat of what Lynas had told him.

Kok said the Lynas Advance Materials Processing (Lamp) plant in Gebeng, close to the state capital Kuantan, would use the same processing technology as plants in China, except that it would be automated, instead of manual.

He added that the Lynas’ Australian plant uses the evaporation method to dispose of its liquidated  waste, whereas the Gebeng one is to dispose its wastes into a river.

"Is that called state-of-art ? Is that called the most advanced technology?" asked Kok, who is an engineer.

NONE He noted that the chemical processes involved in Malaysia's Lynas operation would produce thorium of 1,600ppm, which is  three times higher than Australia's water-based one, which contains only 500ppm.

Kok ( left ) also claimed  in his testimony that temporary operating licence for Lynas was still approved despite its residue waste management plan containing several errors.

Lynas, he added was a dubious company as its chief executive officer had been involved in a commercial  conflict of interest last year ; and that the radioactivity concentration data given between 2010 and 2012 by Lynas was inconsistent.

Ship the residues out, says Pahang MCA

Pahang Chinese Chamber of Commerce deputy president Phang Woon Ping disputed Khaled's statement that Lynas is 6km away from housing estates.

His semi-detached houssing project, Phang said, was just 3km from the plant, causing slow sales since negative  news about Lynas came out.

Pahang MCA leader Ng Fook Heng also took a swipe at Khaled's statement, saying Khaled should not have made huis declaration when public hearing into the Lynas controvery was still going on.

NONE Khaled ( left ) then chipped in explain his remark, but Ng responded: "If I am the (Lynas) plant owner, of course I will say it is good. There is no point for you to say what they told you."

The Pahang MCA group also stressed that residue wastes from Lynas must be shipped out of the country.

The second of the public hearings at Universiti Malaysia Pahang  today lasted three hours and  saw five individuals and three groups presenting their arguments.

Of them, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers chairman  Mas'ut Awang Samah and Kuantan District Villages Committee chairman  Mohd Amir Mohsin gave their thumbs-up for the Lynas project.

Mas'ut said Lynas should be allowed to operate in Malaysia if it could manage its wastes well.

"It is  nothing different than  a chemical factory if the waste is well-managed. I can't find any  reason to reject this project," he said.

'PSC no mandate to defer licence issuance'

Amir declared that all 65 village heads under his umbrella group welcomed the project.

NONE "Pahang is a huge state. We need investments to generate developments," Amir ( right ) said.

Khaled ended the session, which was slated to run until 4.30pm today, at 1pm, saying that no more members of public has registered for the hearing as reason.

Asked whether the government would delay issuing a licence for Lynas to start operations pending the PSC findings, Khaled said the committee has no such mandate.

"It is under the purview of another ministry," he told a press conference later.

 Asked about  his comment on the  low turn-up, he said it might have been caused by the nature of  the topic discussed.

"We are not like the PSC on electoral reform, which touches everything. We only discuss a  specific topic.

"So the concerns raised were generally the same, such as those in the areas of  the project's  transparency,  the  application, the waste, the enforcement agency and the laws," he said.

However, a group of eight Kuantan residents later arrived at the scene later, claiming  that they had an appointment for 2.30pm to state their position.

They were surprised to learn that the session had ended and condemned the PSC for ending it early and for not informing them about it.