KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) is crafting a comprehensive national framework to serve as a guideline for sustainable and regulated rare earth element (REE) extraction in the country.
Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad today said the proposed framework would seek to promote responsible practices and encourage the development of the value chain locally, rather than focusing on exporting raw materials to overseas markets.
“We are coming up with a technical committee. We will meet with the state excos that are relevant for mining and natural resources after the state elections, once the new state Cabinet is in place,” he said after attending MIDF’s dialogue session on navigating the energy transition here today.
Nik Nazmi said the technical committee would be central to the initiative, and that it would comprise experts in the fields of mining, environmental conservation, and manufacturing.
Th committee will be entrusted with the task of formulating and implementing the forthcoming national framework for REE extraction, he added.
When asked about the recent allegations of illegal REE mining activities involving the Kedah Menteri Besar Inc, Nik Nazmi declined to comment directly.
“Well yes we are aware but for now I’m not making any comments yet, you know because for us there are regulations in place and we want everyone to abide by these regulations and we also want to preserve the forest reserve issue,” he said.
It was reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was investigating alleged abuse involving approvals for REE mining in Kedah, which were allegedly illegal and resulted in financial losses to the state.
Yesterday, a senior officer of the state-owned firm and a company director were arrested to assist in investigations in connection with corruption and abuse of power in the REE mining activities in the state, allegedly involving bribes totalling more than RM13 million.
