Science, technology and innovation minister Chang Lih Kang told the Dewan Rakyat that flip-flopping in policy-making was not good for the business community.
“Foreign investors need two things. Firstly, the certainty that the government reaffirmed what it decided on back in 2020, that there will be no new conditions imposed on Lynas,” he said.
“The second thing is consistency in what the government does. It cannot make a decision this year that is different from the one made in 2020.”
Last week, Chang said the government may revoke Lynas’ licence if it fails to comply with conditions prohibiting the production of radioactive waste in Malaysia after July 1.
He said that following the three-year licence extension granted to Lynas, the Australian rare earths mining company must comply with conditions that prohibits it from importing and processing rare earths concentrate after July 1.
On Feb 14, Lynas announced its operating licence in Malaysia, which was set to expire next month, had been renewed for three years with no change to the four conditions set in 2020 by the Pakatan Harapan government.
The first of the four conditions was for Lynas to begin the process of developing a permanent disposal facility (PDF) to dispose of its radioactive waste within the first year from the date of approval of the licence.
The second condition was for the company to submit a work development plan for the construction of the PDF and report on its development status as determined by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB).
Lynas also had to ensure that a cracking and leaching (C&L) plant outside Malaysia is in operation before 1 July 2023, after which it would no longer be allowed to import raw materials containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) into Malaysia.
The final condition was the holding of a financial deposit for compliance with the relevant licence conditions.
Chang said that while Lynas had submitted an application to remove these four conditions, it was turned down by the AELB.
Chang today said that the science, technology and innovation ministry received an appeal from Lynas that was sent on Feb 16, and the ministry was in the process of reviewing the appeal.
He also insisted that the government’s move to maintain the 2020 conditions would not erode investor confidence, adding that there were investors who still wanted to invest in the company.
“I think that is solid proof that investor confidence is not affected by this decision.”
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