THE Entrepreneur Development Ministry has no locus standi on the Lynas issue, said Fuziah Salleh.

“Let the ministers decide on this among themselves. The Energy, Technology, Science, Environment and Climate Change Ministry is responsible for the waste management while the investment part is by MITI. So, it’s nothing to do with entrepreneurial development. 

“He has no locus standi but I do,” the member of Parliament for Kuantan, which is near the rare earths refinery operated by the Australian miner, said in Parliament lobby today.

Fuziah, a critic of the plant since its inception, said her stand was in line with minister Yeo Bee Yin.

“My stand is firm on this. I agreed with the minister’s stand that Lynas can renew its licence if its sends the waste back to Australia.

“If they can’t meet the deadline, their licence should not be renewed as it’s the pre-condition,” the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs)  added.

She said it was too early to say whether Australia will agree to help export the waste, as the deadline is in September.

“The deputy minister for the Energy, Technology, Science, Environment and Climate Change Ministry said that they will work with Australia on that.

“We have to wait.”

Earlier today, Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said the cabinet had not approved Yeo’s conditions to renew Lynas’ licence to continue operating in Pahang.

“Lynas investment is too big to ignore. In my view and we have discussed this in cabinet, it should continue, but waste is a separate matter to be addressed,” said Redzuan.

Yeo had set two conditions for Lynas to renew its operating licence in Malaysia – the export of water leached purification (WLP) residue before September 2 and for the submission of an action plan on the disposal of its 1.11 million tonnes of neutralisation underflow residue (NUF), for which the current approval is valid until February 15.

The waste has been accumulating since 2012, amid exemptions by related agencies. – April 1, 2019.