KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22): Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas Malaysia) has been granted leave to challenge the government’s decision regarding the operational and licensing terms imposed on the company. 
 
The Australian rare-earths producer company had filed two separate judicial reviews in July this year, naming the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) and the Atomic Energy Licencing Board (AELB) as respondents. 
 
The company’s legal action comes after Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Chang Lih Kang in May this year dismissed the company’s two appeals to reconsider the operating and licensing conditions, affirming AELB's previous decision. 
 
Leave was granted before High Court judges Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh and Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, after the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) did not object to the applications. 
 
During the proceedings on Tuesday (Aug 22), Lynas was represented by a group of lawyers led by Tan Sri Cecil Abraham, while the AGC was represented by senior federal counsel (SFC) Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, Shamsul Bolhassan and federal counsel Sallehudin Md Ali.   
 
Abraham also mentioned during the proceedings on Tuesday that they will file an application for both judicial reviews to be heard before Wan Ahmad Farid. 
  
In one of the judicial reviews, Lynas is looking to, among other matters, challenge the ministry’s decision that it can no longer import "naturally occurring radioactive material" to Malaysia from Jan 1, 2024, and that its cracking and leaching (C&L) plant overseas should be operational from Jan 1, 2024. 
 
In May, Chang said that the government had decided to extend the period for the factory to carry out its C&L activities for another six months, in order to avoid affecting the supply chain of rare-earth globally. 
 
The extension, he said, was also to give Lynas time to complete the company’s C&L plant in Australia, which is still under construction. 
 
In a press statement issued last month, Lynas said that the conditions imposed were a "significant variation" from the previous conditions set when the company decided to invest in Malaysia. 
 
"Further, the conditions do not follow the recommendations of the Malaysian Government’s 2018 Executive Review Committee report on Lynas Malaysia’s operations, the AELB’s own audits of Lynas Malaysia’s operations or any of the other three prior independent expert scientific reviews of Lynas Malaysia’s operations. 
 
"Lynas has made significant investments in its Malaysian facility and will seek review through these legal processes in respect of the licence conditions that have been imposed by the Mosti minister, to ensure that Lynas is treated fairly and equitably as a foreign direct investor and as a significant employer and contributor to the Malaysian economy," the statement said.