THE STAR, WEdnESdAy 20 ApRil 2011

nATiOn

n27

State didnt
approve plant

MB: Rare earth processing

set-up involved many parties
By OnG HAn SEAn
and ROSlinA MOHAMAd
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
KUAnTAn: The International Trade and
Industries Ministry was responsible in bringing in Lynas Corporation to construct the rare
earth processing plant in the Gebeng industrial
park, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob
said.
He said the plants operations permit was
issued by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board
(AELB).
Many authorities are involved in the programme to set up the plant.
The state government is not the one which
had approved it.
We cannot simply order Lynas to close
down their plant, he told the Pahang State
Assembly in winding-up the debates on the
motion of thanks on the royal address.
Adnan also said that the state government
had taken an initiative to set up an international independent panel of experts to provide
their views on the plant.
He said the panel would include members of
the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) and
Nuclear Malaysia, whose expertise were also
sought after by other countries.
Adnan said his younger brother Datuk

We cannot simply
order lynas to close
down their plant
Datuk Seri aDnan Yaakob

Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob had once

served as chairman of the board of governors
of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) under former director-general and
Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei.
My brother has assured me that the officials from AELB and Nuclear Malaysia are also
experts in their own fields, he added.
Adnan said the anxieties on the plant had
been addressed a few years ago.
However, it resurfaced after an article
appeared in an American newspaper recently.
One cannot rule out the possibility of business, political or defence rivalries among the
major powers (which triggered the publication of the article), he added.

Justin gives Beliebers the slip

SinGApORE: Many hearts were broken when
teen sensation Justin Bieber evaded fans who
had waited for him to arrive at the airport
here.
It was a security issue. Sometimes, girls
grab me, Bieber explained when asked why
he did not walk out of the main entrance at the
airport on Monday.
Bieber was speaking to journalists at the
Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday hours
before he was scheduled to perform.
The island republic is the first South-East
Asian stop for his My World tour. He performs
in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow before heading to
Indonesia and Australia.
This is Biebers first visit to the region and he
is excited to meet his fans in this part of the
world.
Im having such a great time and its a little
bit crazy to be touring in Asia, the Grammynominated singer said.
He also acknowledged that there are downsides to being Justin Bieber.
Its hard not getting to see people whom I

Malaysia gig: bieber is going to perform

in kuala Lumpur tomorrow.
love. But I get used to it and its all really special when we do meet again, he added.
For now, Bieber is just focusing on his music.
But he did not rule out the possibility of
switching to acting in the future.

parang-wielding man shot dead

By SARBAn SinGH
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
SEREMBAn: A suspected robber, who tried
to attack a police patrol team with a parang,
was shot dead near Taman Bukit Sendayan
near here early yesterday.
State police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk
Osman Salleh said the man, a foreigner in his
20s and believed to be a member of the
Jogang Gang, lunged at a police team on
patrol duty although they had identified themselves and were in uniform.
Another police patrol team had earlier
spotted three men cutting the fence at the
back of a terrace house. When the officers
identified themselves, the men ran in different

directions, he said here yesterday.

SAC Osman said another police team on
crime prevention rounds bumped into one of
the suspects who was armed with the parang
and ordered him to surrender.
Instead of giving in, the armed suspect ran
towards my men who had no choice but to
open fire, he said, adding that the suspect was
hit three times in the head and chest.
He said police believed there was a fourth
accomplice, who might have escaped in a car.
SAC Osman said police believed the four
were involved in at least 10 robberies in Labu,
Nilai and Sendayan since early this year.
The four are known to be aggressive and
had slashed some of their victims with parang,
he added.