KUANTAN: Closing its cracking and leaching (C&L) factory at its plant in Gebeng is as good as bringing Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas) operation to an end.
Lynas Human Resource, Admin and Operational Development general manager Jumaat Mansor said C&L was an important process akin to the mouth in a human's body (for food intake).
"If the C&L factory is closed in July, then the whole line will shut down.
"Not only those working in the factory will lose their jobs, but other facilities within Lynas will be closed too, and more than 2,000 people will become unemployed," he said told reporters after a peaceful pro-Lynas gathering known as "Perhimpunan Rayuan Pekerja Lynas Malaysia dan Komuniti" at the Balok football field here today.
Hundreds of Lynas staff, contractors and the local community turned up to voice their concerns that their job and the economy will be hit if the government decides to close the C&L part of the rare earth plant.
Some held placards and banners with the slogans "Dah 12 tahun beroperasi masih difitnah tak selamat" (After 12 years of operation and it's still slandered unsafe?) and "why only us being penalised?".
Jumaat said there was a risk that they might shift their operations to another country based on Austalia's plan to build a new C&L plant in Kalgoorlie.
"They can set up another factory similar to Lynas elsewhere and the locals who have become experts after working for more than 10 years will lose their permanent jobs. Lynas is the only major processing facility outside of China and 20 per cent of the total world production is from Lynas.
"The International Trade and Industry Minister (Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz) visited Lynas about two weeks ago and agreed to assist after we raised our concerns to him. We plan to meet the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister (Chang Lih Kang) and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim," he said.
Meanwhile, Lynas vice president (people and culture) Mimi Afzan Afza said the closure would be a big loss since it had trained many locals in rare earth processing and some were even sent to Australia.
"Treat Lynas just like the other industries. When the plant is closed there will be the ripple effect - people will lose jobs, eateries will lose customers, demand for home rentals will drop and other neighbouring plants (which work closely with Lynas) might be affected.
"The gathering today is to appeal to the government, including the prime minister and relevant ministers, to be fair to us as closing the factory will only result in people losing their jobs, and all the expertise which they have gained will be wasted," she said.
Lynas staff Mohd Badrul Hisyam Zulkifli, 40, said the country should be proud of producing experts in rare earth technology.
"I recently went to Australia with two other colleagues to share our expertise in rare earth processing. I have been working for more than 10 years with Lynas and it was never a threat to human health," he said.
Villager Husain Abdul Rahim, 47, said Lynas has provided jobs for the people in the nearby fishing villages and if the plant is shut, he is not surprised if some of the youths might end up becoming fishermen.
On Jan 15, Chang said Lynas received a three-year licence renewal to operate until March 2026, but would have to cease its C&L activities that produce radioactive waste after July this year.
The following day, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze said the closure of its C&L facilities would result in many losing their jobs, affecting the community.