Court dismisses bid to challenge PH govt’s licence extension to Lynas

Court dismisses bid to challenge PH govt’s licence extension to Lynas

The judicial review filed by NGO Save Malaysia Stop Lynas and two Kuantan residents on Nov 8, 2019 sought to nullify the decision by the then cabinet.

On Aug 15, 2019, Lynas was granted a six-month licence extension to operate its rare earth processing facility. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
The High Court here dismissed a legal challenge filed by an NGO and two Kuantan residents against the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) Cabinet’s decision to grant Lynas Malaysia an extension of the licence to operate its rare earth processing facility.

Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid conveyed his decision in an email to the attorney-general’s chambers (AGC), which was appearing for the former ministers, and the lawyers appearing for NGO Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, residents, as well as Lynas.

However, the court did not provide reasons for dismissing their judicial review.

The court ordered the trio to pay costs of RM20,000 to the government and another RM20,000 to Lynas.

Save Malaysia Stop Lynas chairman Tan Bun Teet and residents Ismail Abu Bakar and G Ponusamy, filed the judicial review against the PH government on Nov 8, 2019.

They wanted the court to nullify the decision made on Aug 15, 2019 by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his 27-strong cabinet, to allow a licence extension of six months to Lynas.

The PH government collapsed in February 2020. A new Perikatan Nasional-led (PN) government then took over, led by Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the home minister in the PH cabinet.

The residents and NGO were represented by lawyers Gopal Sri Ram, Dinesh Athinarayanan and Saha Deva, while senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi appeared for all the former ministers. Cecil Abraham and Sunil Abraham represented Lynas.

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