KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — The government is urged to establish a government-linked company (GLC) for industrial exploration related to rare earth elements (REE) in this country.

While proposing the matter, Datuk Larry Sng (PBM-Julau) said the GLC could be the regulator of the industry.

"The GLC for this sector is like Petronas which oversees the country’s petroleum industry,” he said when debating the motion of thanks on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said a regulated industry is important to avoid exploitation.

Last year, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad reportedly held discussions with state governments regarding the development of the rare earth elements framework in the country. The focus of the discussion also took into account potential areas to be explored without disturbing the permanent forest reserve ecosystem as well as aspects of processing that needed to be done in the country.

Nik Nazmi said this was due to the fact that 80 per cent of the areas that potentially contain REE and non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE) are outside permanent forest reserves.

It is estimated that Malaysia has 16.1 million tonnes of NR-REE with a market value of RM809.6 billion. — Bernama