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Fuziah PH's former BN minister defends Lynas

Fuziah Salleh | PublishedToday is 2:21 pm | UpdatedToday is 4:34 pm

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REVIEWS | I am keeping up with developments in the country regarding Lynas' concerns over the terms of the license extension of the Lynas plant, which is being well spoken by the leadership and discussed by netizens across the country both from Kuantan and abroad.

Watching from afar in Makkah, I was engulfed in a raging sense of debate and criticism on social media, as well as emotions beyond my control.

It is no less the opposition who took the opportunity to bow down in the murky waters.

While this is a question of citizenship and security and should not be politicized.

I am in Makkah performing the task entrusted to my shoulders in this holy land as representing the nation's leader in assisting the Dhuyufur Rahman - Malaysians who are God's guests in performing this year's pilgrimage, 1440 H / 2019M.

Tax exemption 12 years

More than 10 years ago in October 2008, just months after I was elected as a Kuantan parliamentarian, I brought a debate in the House of Representatives for the first time on the issue of Lynas factory processing rare earth materials and removing radioactive waste as a result of the processing.

My stand from that time to the present has never changed. I am consistent in the hundreds of media statements I have issued and also every time I wake up to debate the Lynas issue in the House of Representatives during that period.

It is my view that our country Malaysia has been misled and may have been deceived in its decision to accept Lynas to operate in Malaysia in the belief that it is a strategic industry that brings benefits and benefits to the country.

The fact is that they are deeply distorted from what Lynas has said in the details of their operations released by Lynas himself.

The government of Malaysia in 2007 when bringing Lynas to Malaysia was tricked into believing that Lynas was a strategic industry, giving Lynas the recognition of the 'Strategic Pioneer Status' that gave Lynas 12 years of tax-free access.

The fact of the matter from the beginning until now is:

1. Lynas brought in @ importing 100 percent of their REO (rare earth oxide) raw materials from Australia.
2. Lynas exports 100 percent of their REE (rare earth elements) products to Japan.
3. Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned Australian company registered on the Australian Stock Exchange.
4. Lynas has not paid a single cent tax on Malaysia for 12 years beginning in 2012.

What has Malaysia been up to since Lynas started operating in 2012?

Over one million metric tons of scheduled waste and 500,000 metric tons of radioactive waste were stored in Gebeng in the Lynas plant area to date on peat inside the RSF (residue storage facility) which is not a permanent storage structure.

Lynas radioactive waste contains a substance called thorium (a carcinogenic radioactive substance) that has a half-life of 14 billion years.

The total number of jobs available to locals is about 600 jobs.

Is this a worthwhile business deal?

Certainly not because our country does not benefit or directly benefit from the Lynas plant.

All we have is a toxic and radioactive residue in which thorium is a carcinogen ( known as carcinogen ) and can easily enter our ecosystem.

The effects of low-level radiation, but such a long lifespan, of course, can have a detrimental effect on public health and the environment in the long run.

While netizens today have criticized the PH government as seen as being rigid and unable to handle the issue properly, and in view of its breach of promise, I would like to reiterate that I remain consistent in stating that Lynas should not be allowed to:

1. Generate more radioactive waste as a result of continuous processing as well;
2. Existing scheduled and radioactive waste (WLP- water leach purification ) shall not be allowed to remain permanently stored in the Gebeng and must be managed in the best manner possible.

The best practice is to send the radioactive waste (WLP) back to their home country of Australia.

However, this condition was not set as the No. 1 requirement by the previous government when granting operating licenses to Lynas.

In fact, the previous government allowed Lynas to conduct the study with the aim of commercializing the waste and later allowing Lynas to distribute their radioactive waste and to benefit Lynas while allowing Malaysians to be victims of prolonged radiation exposure in the form of materials that had been commercialized by Lynas. , where Lynas will reap the benefits of commercializing the remaining products.

The previous government also placed a second requirement on Lynas to build a permanent landfill if the first initiative failed.

And the only third condition is to send the waste back to Australia if the first and second attempts fail.

Unfortunately for Malaysia when the previous government did not set the terms for sending the waste back to Australia as a prerequisite or number one requirement for granting operating licenses to Lynas, it did place it as a third order in a row.

Unfortunately for Malaysia because the previous government did not negotiate with the Australian government to send the radioactive waste back home.

It is unfortunate that the previous government was entrusted with the Lynas trick and continued to give the plant its 'Strategic Pioneer Status' status.

Many said today that PH is now a government, so it cannot be changed that Lynas will not be allowed to operate, adding that on September 2, 2019, the Lynas operating license expired.

We're at the crossroads now. Where the cabinet will decide on the Lynas operating license.

Will the government today be able to terminate Lynas operating license and be willing to risk Lynas' legal action?

I still believe Lynas should not be allowed to operate and continue to generate radioactive waste that will have long-term negative consequences.

But there was a group of cabinet members who when we spoke against Lynas in the past, they were still with the BN.

So today they continue to be misled by Lynas because they were with the previous government and they understood the Lynas issue from the previous government assessment page and failed to understand the real issue of Lynas that I and my colleagues fought.

They considered this issue a political issue at that time and they remained in that understanding. Furthermore the Lynas issue is technically difficult to comprehend and maybe that's why they failed to understand it.

Lynas is a real defense

These are the same people who are today firmly in the process of defending Lynas. Although the reasons they make sometimes sound unreasonable.

In addition, the previous government caused the country's debts to be extended so that Malaysia had to go into debt with Japan in the form of Samurai Bond.

I would like to note here that Japan is the sole beneficiary of Lynas' rare earth REE production.

And would investors in Japan remain silent if Lynas can't continue their REE supply?

Of course, this would disrupt Japan's downstream industry involving REE rare earths produced from the Lynas plant.

Imagine the clutter we are in today.

To fellow cabinet members who have always been entrusted with Lynas, my message is that we should never put investment profits above the safety and well-being of the people.

The country does not accept a single cent tax from Lynas. The downstream industry is not a domestic industry. It's just not worth it.

Instead, we are caught up in the issue of the management of radioactive waste such as mountains and future generations and our grandchildren will curse us in the future, for not keeping them safe and for failing to maintain the environment.

I conclude with a prayer from the holy land of Malaysia and the people of Malaysia are always protected from decisions that do not favor the people and harm the people.

I am very clear that the real issue is the issue of radioactive waste that is not managed and left in the Gebeng and even wants to be commercialized. So this is the issue that needs attention.

We hope the cabinet provides guidance and guidance to make the best decision on August 15, 2019.

FUZIAH SALLEH is a Kuantan MP and deputy minister of religious affairs.