Anwar warned against complicity with US-Israel war crimes over Lynas’ US$96 million Pentagon deal

Global environmental group Greenpeace today joined protesters who gathered at Parliament to demand that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim suspend the operations of Australian rare-earth firm Lynas, warning him not to be complicit in war crimes following the company’s US$96 million deal to supply rare earths to the Pentagon.

The protest is backed by scores of local organisations, including pro-Palestine groups which last year opposed Anwar’s invitation to Donald Trump to attend the Asean summit at the height of the US president’s military support for Israel.

Protesters called for an investigation into the deal to ensure consistency with Malaysian policy and law, as well as to compel Lynas to fully disclose its agreements involving military clients over the past decade.

“Malaysia is at a tipping point to demonstrate principled leadership in how critical minerals are governed," said Greenpeace in a joint statement.

“The government should show principled leadership by prioritising human life over war profits and ensuring Malaysia’s critical minerals are never used to perpetrate violence,” said Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

"We must be on the right side of history and do everything at our disposal to put an end to the very worst example of settler colonialism that is the Zionist state. All eyes are now on the response of the Malaysian government to the very just and moral demands that the Lynas rare earths contract with the US Department of War be rescinded," said the local chapter of global anti-Israel movement, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS).

Ahead of today's protest, a petition signed by more than 20 civil society groups warned that rare earths processed in Malaysia "will be used for the purpose of the manufacturing of advanced military technology that will ultimately be used to kill Palestinian people, including children and babies".

"By supplying essential raw materials in the manufacturing of weapons, Malaysia risks being involved in genocides, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international law committed by the US-Israel alliance,” they added.

They urged Putrajaya to reject any expansion plans by Lynas in Malaysia until it adheres to its original licensing condition to remove the radioactive water leach purification waste from Malaysia.

They said the Malaysian government must act in accordance with its longstanding policy of solidarity with the Palestinian people, adding that hosting Lynas in the country would contradict that policy, “not to mention the toxic radioactive health and environmental hazards its operations have already generated”.

They also urged Anwar to “act now to protect Malaysia’s integrity and sovereignty”, adding that any further rare earth exports for the Pentagon “risk making Malaysia complicit in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, not only in Palestine but also in Iran and other neighbouring countries which the US and Israel have continued to attack recently amidst global condemnations”.

Past U-turns on Malaysia's pro-Palestine policy

The latest protest against the Lynas-Pentagon deal is one of many such issues that have dogged Anwar’s government, highlighting what critics regard as Malaysia’s inconsistency with its decades-long pro-Palestine policy.

In 2024, pro-Palestinian groups and opposition leaders demanded that Anwar cancel his decision to sell shares in government-owned Malaysia Airports to a subsidiary of BlackRock, the US investment giant which is facing allegations of complicity in Israeli war crimes.

Anwar vehemently defended the move, arguing that foreign investment was crucial for the economy and that BlackRock already operates in the local market. Critics, however, warned that the consortium could make Malaysia complicit in Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Anwar also came under criticism for allowing the participation of companies supplying military equipment to Israel at the Defence Services Exhibition Asia (DSA) and National Security Exhibition (Natsec) Asia in May 2024.

The firms included Lockheed Martin, MBDA (BAE Systems), Aimpoint, Colt, L3Harris, Leupold, Shield AI and Leonardo, companies that supply military equipment used by Israel.

Meanwhile, the groups listed specific rare earth materials that Lynas has agreed to supply to the Pentagon.

They include samarium, dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium, all of which are critical for military weapons manufacturing.

“Lynas has also committed to expanding production of other elements such as gadolinium, yttrium and lutetium within the next two years. These elements are essential for US weapons manufacturing,” they added.

In 2023, Edgard Kagan, who served as the US ambassador to Malaysia between 2024 and 2026, spoke of the potential for the US to expand cooperation in diversifying supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals.

Kagan told his Senate confirmation hearing that developing new sources of critical minerals to ensure reliable supply chains was a very high priority for the Biden administration.

“The importance of working on these arrangements with countries where we have good relationship ... is absolutely critical," he said, adding: “I think that we have real potential to do that in countries like Malaysia.”

Pakatan Harapan leaders had previously opposed Lynas’ activities in Malaysia, claiming that its operations affected the environment and local residents.

However, just six months after coming to power, Anwar said the government had given Lynas Malaysia a six-month extension.

This prompted former Bentong MP Wong Tack, who had spearheaded protests against the company, to call out PH leaders for their hypocrisy.

In 2023,  Wong told MalaysiaNow that he had once raised the issue of Lynas with Anwar, when the latter was the Port Dickson MP.

He said he was told that the issue would be resolved when the PKR president became prime minister.

“That was his promise. I waited. All the ministers with me at that time were anti-Lynas and championed the people’s issues. After that, they forgot. It was nothing more than a gimmick. They did nothing,” he added.