KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue to defend its sovereign rights in the rare earth elements (REE) sector despite any signed arrangements, says Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
The acting Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Nov 19) that no form of "modern colonisation" would be allowed to take root here.
Responding to Hassan Abdul Karim’s (PH-Pasir Gudang) concern that Malaysia’s REE wealth could expose the country to strategic vulnerabilities similar to the colonial era, he said the circumstances today were entirely different.
Johari, who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister, emphasised that even if certain agreements had already been signed, Malaysia retained full decision-making power through subsequent processes.
"We still have processes that allow us to defend our rights as a sovereign nation.
"Before independence, many powers could colonise us. But today we are a sovereign nation with our own experts and intelligent people administering this country.
"Anyone who wishes to invest may do so, but they must follow our processes," he added.
Johari stressed that foreign investors "cannot simply come in", particularly to the REE industry, where multiple layers of assessment are required to safeguard national interests.
"For REE, merely reaching an agreement with the Federal Government is not enough.
"The reserves belong to the states as well. Both the Federal and state governments must be involved," he said.
He added that investors would first need to justify the exact location of extraction, prove the availability of reserves, show that downstream facilities such as processing plants are viable, and demonstrate the economic benefits.
"We will ask: where do you want to do it? If it is outside permanent forest reserves, we will still need to know how much reserve there is, how many jobs will be created, how much tax will be paid, what the state stands to gain, and how much corporate tax they intend to contribute.
"They must go through all this," he said.
Johari said the dual federal-state approval structure was a deliberate safeguard.
"This engagement between the Federal Government and state governments must take place before any investment proceeds," he added.
He also took aim at Western nations that "preach environmental protection" to developing countries, saying this was exactly why Malaysia must control where and how REE operations are conducted.
On operations proposed within permanent forest reserves, Johari said the requirements were strict.
"There are prerequisites. Not everything can be approved," he said, adding that environmental impact remained a key consideration.
