Kuantan residents threaten sit-in if rare earth ore arrives
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysia Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Kuantan folk have threatened to block operations of a controversial rare earth plant by holding a sit-in as claims that Lynas Corp is ready to ship in ore has heightened tension among increasingly nervous residents.
Although the Australian miner has denied any plans to ship in material from its Mount Weld mine, it has also said it is confident of starting operations by the end of the year.
File photo of an anti-Lynas protest gathering outside the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in May 2011.
Leaders of local anti-Lynas movements told The Malaysian Insider that after more than six months of lobbying against the RM1.3 billion refinery due to fears of radiation pollution, residents are now threatening to stop the plant at all cost.
“They are threatening to lie down in front of the factory. People are getting nervous and some are planning to move out of Kuantan,” Save Malaysia Stop Lynas chief Tan Bun Teet said.
