Wong Tack camps outside of Lynas HQ in Sydney

Opponents of Lynas Corporation's rare earth refinery in Pahang have spent four days camping outside the company's headquarters in Sydney in a bid to put pressure on the company's shareholders.

The company is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting today and shareholders will have to past the 16 protestors outside the venue.

In a press release yesterday, Himpunan Hijau leader Wong Tack said his group wants Lynas' shareholders and Australians to know that 1.2 million people have signed a petition opposing the rare earth refinery.

"We are here in Australia with the voices of more than a million people to tell Lynas we will close your toxic plant down," he said.

He added that if Lynas does not pull out by June 29 next year, there will be mass street protests in Malaysia.

"If they don't, that will be the date when millions of Malaysians will come to the streets to shut down this toxic plant. This is the message we give to Lynas and its shareholders," he said.

Wong added that shareholders should be aware that Lynas has recorded a A$107 million loss in its last financial year and the public sentiment against their operations in Malaysia should be of great concern to them.

"We ask Lynas shareholders to reconsider whether Lynas is really a good investment and to divest," said Natalie Wasley, coordinator for Beyond Nuclear Initiative (BNI), an Australian advocacy group which is assisting Himpunan Hijau.

SMSL a minority shareholder

While Himpunan Hijau protests outside the venue, another anti-Lynas group, Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL), will see its leader Tan Bun Teet seeking to speak on behalf of Malaysians during the AGM as a minority shareholder.

According to Himpunan Hijau's Facebook page, Malaysians and Australians have been helping the group to set up the roadside campsite and providing the protesters with food and other provisions.

The group said that on Australian family which lives 50km away from Sydney has been providing them with food daily.

Wong also posted a photo of police personnel questioning him and his group, but they did not interfere with their activities.

"The police in Sydney had been carrying out their duties in the most professional manner. Never once have they told us there is an 'order from above' (unlike in Malaysia).

"This is what we call a fair, free and independent functioning of a society," he said.