Therefore, he added, it would not disappoint the “millions of Malaysians” who wanted the Lynas Advance Materials Plant in Gebeng, Pahang, to pack up and return to Australia.
He urged the people to allow the newly formed executive committee time to review the operations of Lynas to ensure Malaysia did not become a toxic waste dumping ground and for other government agencies to do their job.
In a statement today, he said, he had watched the “drama” by Lynas over the past few weeks with “amazement and amusement”. He claimed Lynas was conducting itself with a colonialist mentality and using tactics such as manipulation to stay put.
He noted that the previous cabinet had directed the company to remove all residue from Malaysia, including products made from such residue.
“Now, six years on, the people have witnessed a foreign company that is so powerful that they do not need to abide by a directive issued by the Malaysian cabinet.”
He added: “Today, the tens of thousands of tons of Lynas’s toxic radioactive waste are still piling up like mountains in the backyard of the 700,000 community of Greater Kuantan.”