KUALA LUMPUR: The unity government's decision to allow Lynas Corporation to continue operating in the country is due to differences in its operational terms compared to when the Australian rare earth mining company began in 2011, said Rafizi Ramli.
The Economy Minister, who is also the PKR deputy president, said this while explaining Pakatan Harapan's changed stance on Lynas's presence in the country.
Previously, he said, Malaysia was reduced to dumping grounds for waste by-products with little added value.
"In the past, we were only a dumping ground and there was little added value since the industry is being developed in Australia.
"Compared to now, when the government is restructuring the rare earth industry, our decision is that any processing must be done here, with the raw material sourced from Malaysia, and there must be value added in Malaysia.
"It is not the same concept as what happened when it was brought in 2011."
Rafizi said this during the latest episode of the Yang Bakar Menteri podcast, hosted by blogger "Liam Sian See," who is actually former Barisan Nasional (BN) strategic communications deputy director Datuk Eric See-To.
The episode was moderated by Sayed Munawar Sayed Mustar.
Last year, Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said Lynas is allowed to operate with the updated terms until March 2026.
The updated terms include the permission to import raw materials containing natural radioactive materials (NORM) until its license expires.
"This consideration also allows the continuation of Cracking & Leaching (C&L) activities, subject to the condition that Lynas must ensure the radioactive content in the Water Leach Purification (WLP) residue is below 1 Bq/g through supervision by local experts," Chang had said.
Lynas rare earth materials are used in many high tech and future facing applications, including electronics, wind turbines and hybrid and electric vehicles.