‘Lynas ops review should be transparent’

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Australia Business Council (MABC) said the credibility of the review of Lynas Malaysia’s operations, including the composition of the review team and the terms of reference, is critical to ensure that it does not damage Malaysia’s reputation as a stable and open investment destination.

MABC executive director Linda Tey said the council was concerned about recent press reports about a review of the operations of Lynas Malaysia, which had been producing high quality rare earth materials in Kuantan under extensive licensing conditions since September 2014.

“While the government’s right to conduct a review of the operations is unquestionable, it is important that such a review should assess any breaches of its licence or for not meeting acceptable international standards.

“In the interests of maintaining investor confidence, any review into Lynas Malaysia should be public, transparent, objective and evidencebased. The company should be provided with the opportunity to defend publicly its regulatory and environmental record since it commenced operations in 2012.

MABC said it looked forward to continuing close and cooperative relationship with the government in supporting the strong trade and investment relationship between Malaysia and Australia.

Tey said MABC represented the interests of Australian businesses in Malaysia, with a mission to promote greater trade and investment ties between the two countries.

Australian businesses have invested almost RM30 billion in Malaysia as at the end of last year across a range of productive economic sectors, including manufacturing, services, agribusiness, resources and digital economy.

“This investment has created thousands of jobs for Malaysians and helped boost Malaysia’s economic development, intellectual property and skills base,” she said.