Recently, through Facebook and press statements by our people’s representative YB Fuziah, questions were raised as to whether Lynas has begun their shipment of rare earth ore to the Kuantan port, reports the Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas campaign.
The relevant authorities and Lynas have come out with their own statements to deny the claim. SMSL has also received calls by concerned citizens regarding the same. We did an investigation and we wish to inform the public that:
- Rare earth ore cannot be shipped into Kuantan port without a permit from AELB
- It will be shipped from Fremantle in Western Australia to Singapore for transshipment before it reaches Kuantan Port.
- It will be labelled as radioactive once it reaches Kuantan Port but will not be considered as radioactive anywhere along the route.
- It will come in containers and be carted away immediately from the ship to the factory once it reaches the port after it has received custom clearance.
The above clarifies how the rare earth ore will be shipped into Kuantan Port. To this day, AELB has yet to come out and openly admit that the required permit has been obtained by Lynas Malaysia.
Therefore the claim by parties that rare earth ore will be here by the end of this month (October) can only be confirmed by AELB as they are instrumental in allowing the ore to be imported.
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We hereby call upon AELB and Miti to reaffirm their claim that they have not given any licences including the pre operating licence to Lynas. Any preemptive moves by Lynas or covert attempts by AELB or Miti in this matter will be construed as a grave betrayal of the trust of the people. The whole of Gebeng , Balok, Kemaman and Kuantan residents shall hold the AELB and Miti wholly responsible!
Miti and AELB have openly admitted that they have received the submissions by Lynas on the RIA, decommissioning and long-term waste management plans in July and they have openly claimed to have rejected these documents as inadequate or unsatisfactory as we were told when we met Miti and AELB on the 7 October 2011. If Miti and AELB want to make themselves more credible to the people here they will have to be more open, more transparent and willing to answer questions by the affected residents and provide all information on whatever matters that are related to the Lynas plant.
The port authority briefing concerning the impending import of rare earth ore is merely a standard port operating procedure but without more detailed information from the relevant authorities like AELB and Miti, the whole of Kuantan, Gabeng, Balok and Kemaman have been feeling the
jitters. This is totally unacceptable.
We hereby strongly urge the AELB and MITI to come out and openly declare that none of the licences as required to import the rare earth ore and the pre-operation of the plant have been granted or issued to Lynas Malaysia.
The Lynas issue has advanced to the stage where people are beginning to lose faith in the ability and intent of the government and regulating authorities to safeguard their interests. SMSL has taken the initiative to study the option of bringing the case to court and we have our legal experts currently studying the best option available before we act. We urge all residents to be patient as any legal recourse has to be taken in full accordance with the country’s judicial system. Rest assured that when the time comes we
shall act.
SMSL has come a long way since its inception in March. During the course of this short journey, we have, as our main focus to stop the operation of Lynas Advanced aterials, organised activities that helped to bring awareness to the people here.
In the midst of our enthusiasm to advance this cause, some of our committee members or supporters might have inadvertently or without any malice offended parties and individuals in our interactions with them. We hereby sincerely apologise to these parties and individuals for our mistakes and we hope such incidents will serve to keep us on guard at all times to be more circumspect of proper demeanour and protocol. We believe apologising does not mean that we are totally wrong and others are totally right; it just means that we value our relationship more than our ego!
Tan Bun Teet is the chairperson of the Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas movement
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