Malaysia’s parliament investigates rare minerals deal between “Lynas”, Pentagon linked to weapons for Gaza

KUALA LUMPUR, July 06 (YPA) – The Malaysian Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Trade will hold a hearing on July 16 to investigate a $96 million rare earth elements supply contract awarded to Australian firm ‘Lynas Rare Earths’ by the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) earlier this year.

The Member of Parliament and committee chairman, Wong Chen, announced the move following widespread protests outside the parliament building in Kuala Lumpur.

Around 50 activists from civil society organizations, including Greenpeace and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, submitted a petition alleging that the supplied materials are utilized in manufacturing U.S. weaponry supplied to Israeli occupation for its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The committee’s probe, which will span four years to review the contract’s details and assess its compliance with domestic regulations, will gather testimonies from Lynas representatives, government officials, and environmental and human rights activists.

According to Wong Chen, the findings will be submitted to relevant authorities to help shape Malaysia’s national policy on rare earth elements. He reiterated the country’s principled stance supporting the use of these minerals for renewable energy rather than arms manufacturing, as Malaysia seeks to attract investments to develop its domestic industry.

YPA