Amid continuously shifting geopolitical landscapes and the ongoing US-China trade war, Malaysia is actively positioning itself to become a significant player in the rare earth elements (REE) value chain.
Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Cheng Li-Kang, noted that investors from Western countries and China are increasingly eager to collaborate, highlighting Malaysia's strategic value and potential in rare earth processing.
“They are very keen to work with us. President Xi Jinping has also clearly stated that China will assist us in developing relevant processing technologies.”
“Everything is progressing at the speed and in the direction we expect.”
He said this to Bernama and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) after participating as a panelist in the "Tech Talk" program at the National University on Wednesday.
Cheng Li-Kang pointed out that to promote industrial growth, the government is revising the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984, as this act currently only allows for three-year industrial licenses, which he believes is too short to support the sustainable growth of the rare earth industry.
“One of the key amendments involves Article 16(6), which currently authorizes the department to issue licenses with a three-year term.”
He said the related amendment is expected to be tabled this year.
He emphasized the need to accelerate the development of Malaysia's midstream and upstream rare earth sectors.
“We must speed up development because opportunities are fleeting. We need to make full use of all available resources.”
Earlier in his speech, Cheng Li-Kang mentioned that Malaysia is estimated to have 16 million tons of unprocessed rare earth minerals, valued at over 800 billion ringgit.