Some 300 anti-Lynas protesters kick-started their 24-hour Occupy Balok-Gebeng rally in Kuantan today with a group planting banners at Balok beach.


 In the calm afternoon with prevailing winds, some 50 participants stuck the unipole banners bearing anti-Lynas slogans into the sand at the beach close to the Gebeng industrial park where the controversial rare earth plant is set to begin operations.


 <img align="left" alt="occupy balok gebeng anti lynas 230612 1" height="224" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/491/44f31ffc0a432158166117f3443596e8.jpg" width="301"/>
 Led by Himpunan Hijau chairperson Wong Tack, the crowd dressed in green broke into a round of chants of&nbsp; "Stop Lynas; Lynas Get out" before planting the banners on the seafront.


 Made using the traditional colour of mourning, the black banners with white wordings read among others, ""13th GE, we bury BN, bury Lynas", "Lynas get out now", "No Lynas on Malaysian soil".


 Launching the ceremony, host and activist Hishamuddin Rais announced, "This is to symbolise that the people of Malaysia have come firm and strong to support the anti-Lynas cause."


 &nbsp;The organiser also placed some 15 coffins under a gigantic banner of Lynas, to be torched later at the "Flame of Anger Rising- Burn Lynas into Ashes" session.


 Protestors gathered at the popular beach outside Kuantan in a carnival-like atmosphere, with numerous canopies setup to sell green T-shirts, food, ceramah CDs and soft toys.


 <img align="right" alt="occupy balok gebeng anti lynas 230612 4" height="245" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/491/d8992ebb1ccdca46153f8882124b4fcb.jpg" width="250"/>
 With the sea of state flags, green flags and black banners waving in the sky, many brought their family members to support the what is deemed as a major sign of public disapproval of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC)'s Tuesday announcement to grant a temporary operating licence to the Australia miner.


 Also at the rally were PKR parliamentarian for Indera Mahkota Azan Ismail, DAP parliamentarian for Triang Leong Ngah Ngah, PAS environment bureau chief Zulkefly Mohd Omar, Stop Lynas Coalition Sim Soon Hiong and Stop Bukit Aman Gold-Mining committee members.


 
 
 Upbeat on turnout
 
 


 Wong, when commenting on the morning's low turn-out, which had fallen short of the 10,000 target, expressed confidence in the crowding growing by nightfall when a slew of culminating events had been scheduled to take place.


 In his rousing speech earlier, he urged the crowd to intensify their struggle to halt the RM700 million plant.


 <img align="left" alt="occupy balok gebeng anti lynas 230612 6" height="220" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/491/f9ab6820dffe4f8bd1a6e66d100399b5.jpg" width="313"/>
 "We know that we all are here to reject Lynas, and to achieve that we need to reject this government.


 "Many people said we are exhausted, but this is the just the beginning. Let's be united and embark on this fight from Balok to the whole Malaysia," he said to the cheering crowd.


 Meanwhile, Atan urged the people to exercise their electoral right to "put the last nail into the Lynas coffin".


 "This is a long overdue fight. We went to the court, we held protests, we have done everything.


 "The last resort is now in our hands. Come the next general election, we need to vote the BN out," he said.

<img align="left" alt="NONE" height="64" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/490/5b04bf439d10dd45289bbfd0bb696bdc.jpg" width="64"/>

 UPDATED 5.50PM

Protesters plant banners on the beach to launch their 24-hour occupation against the rare earth plant.

300 kick-start anti-Lynas Occupy Balok-Gebeng rally

~RM12

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