KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak criticised the unity government's cabinet ministers who previously criticised his government for allowing Lynas Malaysia to operate.
Najib shared screenshots of news reports quoting Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad in Parliament, who said the government wanted to attract more rare earth players to Malaysia.
Najib posted his comment: "Syukur! Suddenly, Lynas is no longer radioactive. Can no longer lead to mutation."
He took a jab at Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, who had vowed to shut Lynas down when Pakatan Harapan came into power.
"Has Lynas been shut down?" he asked, attaching a poster of an election campaign with the promise to shut down Lynas, which was believed to have been shared by Rafizi.
Pakatan Harapan had called for Lynas to be shut down, citing its radioactive danger.
However on Tuesday Nik Nazmi reiterated Malaysia's open stance in welcoming industry players from around the world to develop rare earth element resources in the country.
"We already have Lynas, the second-largest rare earth processing plant globally after China, in Kuantan and we are looking into potential improvements from a policy perspective."
He said Malaysia was implementing a comprehensive approach in the non-radioactive rare earth element raw material industry, including considering improvements to attract more players.
