Press statement of Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL)
Kuantan High Court will hear residents’ challenge to Lynas’ licence
Date: Tuesday 28th August 2012
Kuantan High Court will hear residents’ challenge to Lynas’ licence
Date: Tuesday 28th August 2012
Photo source : http://on.fb.me/OmXahY,http://on.fb.me/PLJcZh
This morning at the Kuantan High Court, SMSL crossed the
first hurdle in getting its two judicial review applications accepted by
Justice Mariana Yahya as follows:
1.
To revoke the temporary operating
licence granted by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) on 30th
January to the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) on the ground that no
detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) was done and that a fresh
radiological impact assessment (RIA) and a radioactive waste management plan
(RWMP) should have been submitted to AELB for approval before the TOL was
granted. This application was lodged on behalf of Kuantan residents Mr Tan Bun Teet, Encik Syed Talib Syed
Sulaiman and Puan Hasimah Ramli by their lead counsel Bastian Vendargon.
2.
To review the decision of the
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) not to revoke the Lynas
temporary operating licence following an appeal by a group of Kuantan residents
who together with their legal representative and experts, appeared before the
MOSTI panel with evidence of risks and harm of the project earlier this year on
April 17th. This application
was lodged on behalf of Kuantan residents Haji Ismail Abu Bakar and Tan Ah Meng by their
lawyer R.S. Pani.
About
200 well-wishers and supporters turned up at the court and waited patiently for
several hours for the judge to reach her decision.
Mr Tan Bun Teet, one of the applicants and a
spokesperson for SMSL said, ”we believe that the Minister (MOSTI) has acted
unfairly towards us and his decision was unjust. We are now taking the matter to the Court to
review it and to revoke the TOL.”
Australia’s Lynas Corporation had initially intended to apply
to be a party to the proceeding but its lawyer withdrew at the last minute for
unknown reasons.
“We were unsure if our applications would be accepted or
thrown out of the court on some unknown grounds. We are very pleased that our applications are
accepted by the court. We look forward
to further fair hearings and trial in the near future.” Lamented Haji Ismail
Abu Bakar, another Kuantan resident who appeared before the Minister back in
April.
The Court will resume at a latter date to determine a
hearing date and other related matters.
Mr Tan explained, “Kuantan is our home town. Each and every
one of us has invested a lot to make this town a special place. It is our home. We have to do everything possible to protect
it from harm’s way especially from the risk and hazards of the massive Lynas
rare earth refinery plant.”
“It is on this basis that we have persisted,
protested and sought legal actions. We will fight Lynas till the end to protect
our home and to create a clean and safe future for Malaysia.” Concluded Mr Tan.