Five Kuantan residents are holding the rest of the country to ransom by persisting in their legal challenge to the Lynas rare earths refinery.
The petitioners have now received the Kuantan High Court's nod to challenge the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister's decision to award a temporary operating licence (TOL) to Lynas.
Despite the project being declared safe by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, Opposition-backed groups are still obstructing the construction of this landmark plant to score political brownie points. But in doing so, they are jeopardising Malaysia's national interest.
Once completed, the Lynas plant would be the world's biggest refinery for rare earths, and the first to be set up outside China in nearly three decades.
In fact, the Opposition should consider that Malaysia is a member of a unique global club. It is one of the dozen or so countries, including China, which has reserves of rare earth elements, which are vital in the manufacture of high-tech goods.
This new refinery would allow Malaysia to develop its own expertise in processing rare earths, a technology that few countries possess.
But such national considerations are far from the mind of Tan Bun Teet, one of the five applicants, who heads the controversial Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) group. He claimed that the Minister had not complied with the provisions of the Atomic Licensing Act 1984, and accused Lynas of not providing details of its radioactive waste disposal management plans.
Perhaps Tan should consider the large scientific evidence that shows the rare earths plant is indeed safe – and is not a nuclear facility. Even pro-Opposition website Free Malaysia Today that had earlier claimed the Lynas plant was unsafe, has since publicly apologised, admitting that its allegations did "not have a scientific basis".
In a clear and irrevocable apology last month, FMT admitted: "The regulatory review of the Lynas plant has been thorough and diligent."
It is obvious that the Opposition-supported media attack on Lynas was orchestrated without any scientific basis, and aimed at carrying out a misinformation campaign against the project to scare the Malaysian public.
The anti-Lynas campaign has been a convenient tool for Pakatan Rakyat to try scoring political points against the Government.
It is time now for the few protesters to stop trying to scare Malaysians with half-truths, and to accept that the plant is safe. Trying to force a legitimate plant to cease operations speaks volumes on how their personal interests have blinded the protestors to the larger national interest.
The decision on Tuesday by High Court judge Mariana Yahya to allow a judicial review of the TOL demonstrates once again that our judicial system is free from political interference. Unfortunately, Pakatan is now misusing the legal process to serve its own political agenda.
Tan's obstructionism will only be cheered by China, as the Lynas plant would threaten China's de-facto monopoly of global rare earths, and would allow Malaysia to become an alternative production hub.
Does the Opposition not care about Malaysia? Are they so obsessed with their lust for power that they are ready to hurt their own country to reach Putrajaya? By stalling an important facility that could cement Malaysia's position in the global rare earths race, the Opposition has revealed its true colours.
Pakatan Rakyat is not interested in Malaysia becoming a key player in the global economy; the coalition is simply bent on capturing power.
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