Wong Tack, who has been an outspoken critic of the rare earth processing plant, said Malaysians had a right to be concerned over how Lynas intended to deal with its waste.

“I strongly condemn Lynas’ threat to sue ordinary citizens of Malaysia who have courageously stepped forward to voice their concerns on the site chosen for Lynas’ PDF.

“I call upon all responsible Malaysians to unite against this act of continuous bullying of our people,” the Bentong MP said in a statement.

Yesterday, Lynas – in denying that Bukit Ketam was a water catchment area – said detractors had made “uninformed and misleading statements” about the effect of Bukit Ketam on Kuantan’s water supply.

It then said that it would not hesitate to take legal action against those who “persist in defaming our people and our company”.

Wong Tack said that in any responsible country, it would have been compulsory to address these concerns during the initial licence application stage by a company like Lynas.

He went on to urge the energy, science, technology, environment and climate change ministry to reject Lynas’ application for licence renewal in March.

On Aug 15, Putrajaya agreed to renew Lynas’ licence to operate in the country for another six months subject to several conditions, including identifying a PDF in six months or obtain permission from the authorities of any other country to allow the export of its waste there.

Wong Tack said the ministry’s decision on whether to further extend Lynas’ operating licence should not be based on what’s good for the industry.

“It should be based on what’s good for the wellbeing of our people and the environment. It should be based on the rule of law and justice.”

Lynas had been embroiled in controversy for several years, with environmentalists and some Pakatan Harapan politicians protesting against its plant on health grounds and calling for its closure.