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KUANTAN: Rare earth producer Lynas said it welcomes any parties who wish to get a clearer picture of its operation to visit the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, here.
Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze said a request for such a visit must be made formally, and those setting foot on the rare earth refinery must follow rules to ensure their safety.
“We want people to know what we are doing because we are proud of it. We are happy to show our plant. People may have misunderstanding on our operation which led to wrong conclusion.
“Of course we are happy to welcome those interested because we too want to be welcomed here. Plus it is Malaysian and also Australian culture to welcome people,” she told reporters after the public hearing on Lynas here.
Lacaze said Lynas was committed to ensure the plant would not affect the safety or cause harm to the people of Kuantan or its environment.
She said Lynas was bound by professional code of conduct.
She said 97% of its workers are Malaysians.
“My commitment to people working with Lynas is to ensure they have jobs and to ensure they are safe and they return to their family at night in a good condition.
“Our staff like to work with us because we developed them. We want to develop the skills and technologies here and share the prosperity with people here. We want to provide good conditions and safe environment,” she said.
On the allegation by Bentong MP Wong Tack during the public hearing that Lynas funded research by some agencies on the issue, Lacaze said:
“I think it is not helpful to make an allegation and I should not said anything on that. Lynas people are professional and we will leave it to the review committee to do their job as instructed by the government.”
Lacaze noted that it was not fair to equate Lynas with the former rare earth refinery in Bukit Merah, Perak, because Lynas did not simply release its residue to the environment and waste was properly managed according to the law.
She said waste water from the plant was also treated three times before it was released.
Meanwhile, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh who also attended the hearing wanted the government to amend the licensing condition to Lynas which allowed it to recycle its waste residues.
“According to the condition of the previous government, Lynas is allowed to recycle all substances for their study, when we are not certain of its effects in the food chain,” she said.
Fuziah who is also the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department added she wanted the original condition on Lynas to bring their waste back to Australia.
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