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The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Activists urge oversight for REE mining
PETALING JAYA: Independent and robust oversight is crucial for monitoring and auditing waste management practices in both the current and future rare earth element (REE) mining sectors, say environmental activists. Greenpeace Malaysia campaigner Heng Kiah Chun. Greenpeace Malaysia campaign lead, Heng Kiah Chun, said the move is necessary to protect nearby communities. While it welcomed the government's recognition that REE mining cannot proceed without safeguards, the group remains deeply concerned that exploration and mining activities are already taking place without adequate oversight. 'Rare earth mining and processing generate toxic waste, so the government must act transparently. It must commission an independent audit to protect communities living in the area,' Heng said when contacted. He was asked to comment on the announcement by acting Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani that waste management related to REE mining must be ironed out before Malaysia ventures deep into the industry. Heng added that Greenpeace, together with civil societies and its allies, had submitted a memorandum calling for bold commitments in the 13th Malaysia Plan. 'The memorandum outlines five urgent reforms to close policy gaps in forest governance and uphold indigenous rights. 'Without these reforms, Malaysia risks losing access to long-term international climate funding under the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, which will be launched at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference this year. 'Malaysia should not gamble with people's health, indigenous rights, or the environment in pursuit of short-term economic gains. PEKA President Rajesh Nagarajan. 'Any move towards mining must put community safety, transparency, environmental protection and the community's rights at the heart of decision-making,' he said. The Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia president Rajesh Nagarajan said the rare earth processing industry has been around since Lynas Advanced Materials Plant began operations in 2012 in Pahang. He noted that it has generated well over a significant amount of waste, including approximately 450,000 tonnes of radioactive residue. 'Almost all of it remains in temporary on-site storage. There is still no permanent disposal facility,' he said. 'For more than a decade, residents have lived near accumulated industrial residue while authorities continue reviewing procedures. Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meena Raman 'What is certain is that Malaysia already has a rare earth industry, and with it, the challenge of managing radioactive waste. A long-term disposal solution has yet to be established,' he added. Meanwhile, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meena Raman welcomed the government's announcement, saying that such safeguards would be beneficial. The group also reiterated its call for the federal and state governments to prohibit REE mining in environmentally sensitive areas, such as permanent forest reserves.
New Straits Times
21-05-2025
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Of e-waste and 'importers'
When it comes to e-waste, we have been hearing one refrain for the longest time: container importers are misrepresenting their contents. Yet we do not hear of fraudulent importers being severely punished. So long as this leniency persists, expect the importers to continue to falsely declare the contents of the containers and get away with it. Most of them are not importers but members of global smuggling syndicates. We appreciate the government's desire to ensure that Malaysia doesn't become a dumping ground for developed nations' e-waste. But desire must be followed by right actions. The first right action is to begin at home by making fraudulent importers pay heavily for their crime. Such crooks of commerce must have their licence revoked. Period. We will be glad to be proved wrong, but we have yet to hear any importer's licence being revoked after all these years of "importers misrepresenting their containers' contents". Why are we so coy when it comes to punishing people who practise such crass commerce? The next right action is to send the container back to where it came from. Here, our authorities deserve applause aplenty. We have been repeatedly told that all seized containers were sent back to the countries of origin. But we must remember, not all e-waste containers were seized. Many have gotten away, with their "importers" coming for repeat business. Blame it on less-than-robust enforcement. Puzzlingly, there are some Malaysians who are advocating the import of e-waste, arguing that such a move would put us on a "green" path. Little do they realise that not all of the e-waste can be processed; most of it is dumped, causing environmental damage of the dangerous kind. E-waste is toxic. Ask China why they banned e-waste imports in 2018. Not because of some peculiar ideology, but because of sane concerns about the health of its people and the environment. Our actions must reflect such sane concerns for our people and the environment. However, returning e-waste containers is after the fact. Malaysia must act before the illegal e-waste lands here. Now that we know that most of the e-waste is from Japan and the United States, there must be serious government-to-government discussions to get the countries to keep their waste at home. After all, such a move will be very much in line with international law and shipping regulations, the Basel Convention being one. Greenpeace Malaysia's campaign lead, Heng Kiah Chun, put it best to this newspaper on Tuesday: "No country should be treated as a dumping ground. Each country must take responsibility for managing its own waste." Malaysia has enough of its own e-waste to manage without bearing the burden of others. As pointed out by Heng, our post-consumer e-waste management system is in its infancy. For a nation that produces tonnes of e-waste, that is too early a stage to be in. Finally, Malaysia must join the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia to push for global e-waste accountability of electronic manufacturers. Their responsibility doesn't end with the sale of their equipment, but extends to collection, repair and reuse, says Greenpeace Malaysia. We agree.
New Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Global north must end waste colonialism, says Greenpeace Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Global north countries must end the dumping waste to the global south. "This is waste colonialism. No country should be used as a dumping ground and all countries should deal with their own waste problem," said Greenpeace Malaysia campaign lead Heng Kiah Chun. He said imported waste was often connected to syndicates trafficking waste towards the global south. After China's foreign waste import ban in 2018, the syndicates have turned to other countries to dump their waste. "It is crucial that we address the root causes of the problem of illegal e-waste recycling, which are corruption, weak enforcement and inadequate laws," Heng said. He said globally, producers must enforce Extended Producer Responsibility for their products, which assigns producers responsibility for the end-of-life of products. "The producers, these big businesses, are profiting from electronic devices, thus they should have a better collection, repair and reuse mechanism," he told the New Straits Times. Nonetheless, there is also a responsibility domestically to ensure e-waste from formal infrastructures do not seep into the illegal or informal system. "In Malaysia, dealing with domestic post-consumer e-waste management is underdeveloped, but progress is promising. "For example, we have collection services that pay freelance workers to pick up e-waste from homes, cash rewards in exchange for e-waste and prepaid Pos Malaysia services for e-waste deliveries from out-of-coverage areas. "However, this shouldn't be an excuse for other countries to keep sending e-waste to Malaysia."
