THE plan to burn Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto at an anti-Lynas rally will not achieve anything, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“They can burn the manifesto, but we still have to deal with this in a commonsensical way.

“Burning the manifesto won’t resolve anything, and it’ll only make people angry,” the prime minister told reporters after visiting the AirAsia headquarters in Sepang today.

The rally, scheduled to be held in Kuantan on Sunday, will reportedly include the burning of the PH manifesto to symbolise protesters’ anger at the government for breaking its promise on sustainable development.

Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas chairman Tan Bun Teet has accused PH of violating Promise 39 of its manifesto, where it pledged to govern based on the principles of sustainability.

Putrajaya yesterday announced its decision to grant the firm a six-month conditional extension to continue operations at the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Gebeng, Pahang.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board said Lynas must show detailed plans for the construction of a cracking and leaching facility overseas, to be ready in four years’ time, so that the process is no longer carried out at the Gebeng plant.

The company must also identify a site for a permanent disposal facility, or show the relevant approvals to move its water leach purification (WLP) residue out of Malaysia.

Additionally, Lynas is required to stop all research and development on the use of WLP radioactive residue as Condisoil for agriculture purposes.

Dr Mahathir said when PH drew up its manifesto, the pact was not aware of many issues.

“Now, we are finding different information, and we have to respond to such information.”

Asked what will happen if Lynas does not fulfil the three conditions, he said the company has been given four years to build a cracking and leaching facility.

“We’ve given them six months (to show their plans), but we hope to get them to do these things quickly. But if they cannot… we have to take their reasons into consideration.

“We will know after six months (whether Lynas fulfils the conditions).”

Lynas is the biggest producer of rare earth materials, which are used in numerous electronic products, including military equipment. – August 16, 2019.