Kuantan High Court will hear residents’ challenge to Lynas’ licence

Press statement of Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL)
Kuantan High Court will hear residents’ challenge to Lynas’ licence
Date: Tuesday 28th August 2012

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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 30^th 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 17^th.  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.