Fight goes on despite court decision, say residents

Malay Mail 
by Andrew Sagayam

by Ikram Ismail

THE people will continue their fight against Lynas despite the Kuantan High Court’s decision to lift the stay on the rare earth plant’s temporary operating licence (TOL) yesterday.

“The public will fight until the end of this matter. I will stand by the people on this. Looking at the way things are going, this was not unexpected,” said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president Fuziah Salleh.

Fuziah, who is also the Kuantan MP, said the decision to allow Lynas to proceed with its two-year temporary operations would have negative effect on Barisan Nasional’s election campaign.

“The people are quite adamant about not wanting Lynas to operate. I think BN will lose some seats in Pahang. When they do, BN will think about whether they should have allowed Lynas in the first place,” she said.

Justice Mariana Yahya said yesterday it was still too early for Kuantan residents to argue on the status of the TOL granted by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB).

In her judgement, she said it was only proper to do so during the judicial review.

“It is not a case involving the minister’s decision alone onlyas Lynas will be adversely affected by the court’s decision. A more suitable solution is to have Lynas be a party and let the applicants seek an interlocutory injunction against Lynas,” she said.

She also dismissed the residents’ application for a stay on the TOL pending judicial review with costs.

Counsel for the residents, Datuk Bastian Vendargon, filed an oral application for an appeal against the court’s decision, saying the idea of his clients’ application was to prevent damage to the environment, their livelihood, lives, health and properties.

Zulkifli Omar — the Green Clean World chairman, Badan Bertindak Anti Rare Earth Refinery (Badar) adviser and Himpunan Hijau committee member — said they would review the court decision with the 80 coalition members with a view to issuing a summons to the related government agencies and Lynas.

“We will discuss with our lawyers and members in Himpunan Hijau on the legal action we can take against the related government agencies and Lynas itself,” he said.