Suspension of the Lynas’ Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) extended again

Press statement of Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL)
Suspension of the Lynas’ Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) extended again
10th October, 2012

The Kuantan High Court extended the suspension of the Lynas ToL until 8th November 2012. The court will decide then whether Lynas’ application to be a party to be an intervener will be accepted and if the ToL will be suspended until the judicial review applications are heard and finalised.

Mr Tan Bun Teet, a spokesperson for SMSL and an applicant of the judicial reviews said “A month of extended suspension of the ToL is another month of temporary relief for the Stop Lynas campaign. At least we have now dashed Lynas’ hope of operating in October!”

On the 28th August the Kuantan High Court accepted the following two judicial applications from SMSL:

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.

SMSL has sought professional advice from some of the most qualified experts from Malaysia and overseas to assist in bringing these cases together.

“Rakyat will not rest as long as we know the Lynas rare earth plant remains a threat to our peaceful and healthy living environment. We will fight till the end to get rid of this controversial project out of our lovely town.” Commented Haji Ismail Abu Bakar.”

Hundreds of local residents started to arrive at the Kuantan High Court early this morning anxiously waiting for the outcome of today’s hearing.

A Kuantan resident Ram Punusamy said, “we will fight on and fight till the end until the Lynas project is shelved. We were never consulted for this project. Why should we be left to face the consequences of having massive amount of radioactive and hazardous waste and the risk of pollution of our air, our water and our land?”

SMSL has now engaged a renowned German scientific and engineering consultancy Oeko Institute to provide expertise on radiological matters and hazardous waste management issues for the case and for its Stop Lynas campaign.