A public referendum should be called, once and for all, to decide whether the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (Lamp) should be allowed to to operate on Malaysian soil.

PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man made the call today in an attempt to resolve the bickering between his Pakatan Rakyat colleagues - Hulu Langat PAS MP Che Rosli Che Mat and Kuantan PKR MP Fuziah Salleh, who have taken opposite viewpoints on the matter.

NONE"The only way out of this problem is to hold a referendum... because this issue has an immense impact on the people of Kuantan and the surrounding areas, the government and Lynas are advised to not take the public objections lightly," Tuan Ibrahim (left) said in a statement today.

"Whatever the decision is - whether to follow through with the project or to cancel it - the people are the ones who are directly affected.

In a TV3 programme last week, Che Rosli, a nuclear scientist, accused PKR of spinning the issue for its own benefit, and said he was "ashamed" that the party would resort to arguments that have no scientific or academic basis.

Fuziah and several other Pahang-based environmental groups, including community and non-governmental organisations, have been staunch opponents to the construction of the rare earth plant in Gebeng, saying that it's a "time bomb" in the works.

Serious flaws are not academic arguments

To support their argument, an article in the influential New York Times on June 30, citing internal memos allegedly issued by current and former engineers on the Lynas plant, claimed that there were serious flaws in its design, including structural cracks, air pockets and leaks in many of the concrete shells for 70 containment tanks.

It also said that the steel piping ordered for the plant is made of standard steel, which is unsuitable to manage radioactive slurry and that the storage tanks are made out of conventional concrete, which is more likely to crack compared with the polymer variety.

However, Lynas has since denied the allegations, reiterating that the safety of the local community would be ensured.

Che Rosli in the TV# interview said the opponentsof the Lynas plant were being "unscientific and not academic at all" and that the rare earth plant builders would ensure the safety of the facility.

The plant is supposed to process rare earth concentrate shipped in from the Lynas Corporation's Mount Weld site in Australia.

"If Lynas and the government turn a deaf ear to the people's objections, we are confident their protests will go on and it is not impossible for the opponents to obtain a court injunction," Tuan Ibrahim said.

A decision taken through a referendum would be fair to all parties, including the company, he insisted, as it would be an amicable democratic system allowing the government to listen to the voice of the people.