As you say – you can’t really trust SMSL comments and their chairman, the 64 year old failed ex-math teacher chairman Bun Teet. I’m not sure what his source of inside knowledge of a cabinet meeting of two weeks ago would be but it would possibly be Yeo or maybe Fuzhia who would more likely provide him with a positive report of “everything is going well” and leave out any dissenting voices that in reality would probably have been an avalanche. (IF the cabinet meeting took place - but being so important I expect that some kind of top level meeting would have taken place).
Nevertheless there are some interesting bits in what Teet says.
Lynas is only being asked, not ordered, to do anything – this is in accordance with the Lynas announcement implying that any solid “order” is missing.
Lynas has already announced that they have submitted a storage option plan with regard to the 15th February deadline and announced this – this should no longer be an outstanding matter. The comment about Lynas being ordered to stop operations on 15th February is therefore simply SMSL’s wishful thinking.
Teet then attempts to equate the SMSL appeal to stop the TOL previously to Lynas’s appeal to suspend Yeo’s new conditions now. Clearly Lynas’s case is far superior – especially with the backing of the “expert committee”, than SMSL’s original delusional arguments in their case (That failed). It’s more wishful thinking as in “We failed, so they will fail”
There is still considerable uncertainty if Yeo has properly issued any orders as Teet claims. There has been no ASX announcement along these lines. Teet is right in one regard though – IF such an order has been made then Yeo has to have a hearing if appealed.
Teet then says that if this (theoretical) hearing is then dismissed by Yeo – Lynas can then request a judicial review. I had assumed from previous postings that there was a no appeal quirk and the Minister’s decision was final. Perhaps that only applies to the appeal itself and not further legal action – that would seem to make sense as otherwise the minister would be judge and jury, that wouldn’t be allowed under normal Anglo-Saxon law that Malaysia is subject to.
So, if the (theoretical) order/ appeal be overruled by Yeo and it then goes to judicial review, then of course Lynas would be in a very strong position – unless you believe that the judicial system is corrupt – that I do not. Note also the comments of the Chief Justice from an earlier post today.
The other interesting matter that Teet mentions is that “Linus can continue to operate until the court decides” Is that good or is that brilliant!
Teet concludes with desperate nonsense about Lynas not being able to afford the disposal of the “toxic waste” and thus the definite result being the shutdown of Lynas in September. An extreme joining of the dots and everything in between!
So in conclusion, as I previously commented – Yeo’s situation is in a mess and getting worse. She is probably still scrambling around figuring out what to do. The above steps point to her legal defeat and the end of her political career if she fails on this. She must start negotiating with Lynas now, if not already.
On another matter, I have a few projects on at the moment but something I would like to do is go through that awfully lopsided article by “The Diplomat” posted recently. The author and two “experts’ quoted appear to be “environmentalists”. Of those quoted, the least qualified is radical and the most qualified (A real PhD!) seems to have been negatively cherry picked on a couple of lines. However – he did go to Cambridge, but I have yet to investigate if he was in Yeo’s year or class – a bit of a coincidence though. No one from the expert committee nor Lynas was interviewed and the “facts” were largely incorrect. The article may well turn out to be a Yeo mouthpiece and not to be taken with any seriousness by anyone – if it hasn’t already! Gutter journalism I suspect.
Saint
LYC Price at posting:
$1.67 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)