Opposition proposes national entity to manage RM800b rare earth wealth, prevent illegal mining losses

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The opposition has proposed the establishment of a national entity to manage rare earth elements (REE) as a new source of national wealth in the post-petroleum era.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the entity was necessary to prevent non-radioactive raw materials worth more than RM800 billion from being sold cheaply without value-added processing or lost through illegal mining activities.

“We therefore propose the establishment of Reenas to manage these resources in an integrated manner, from exploration to the processing of downstream products,” he said when debating the Supply (Budget) Bill 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He also said Malaysia needed to move beyond merely selling cheap electricity to foreign data centres and instead become an Asean energy powerhouse by exporting clean energy, owning regional grid infrastructure and developing energy technology.

Hamzah also urged the government to consider building nuclear power reactors to ensure a stable national electricity supply, with a clear roadmap and timeline for implementation.

In the technology sector, Hamzah suggested that the government establish a National Sovereign Data Centre and enact an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance Bill to mitigate the risk of breaches involving the country’s confidential information.

“Data centre usage is expected to increase 18-fold by 2040. Sensitive government data must be stored within the country, with encryption keys held by local agencies rather than relying on foreign public cloud services,” he said.

Meanwhile, he welcomed the government’s decision to continue social assistance programmes such as the Rahmah Cash Contribution (STR), Rahmah Basic Contribution (SARA) and Rahmah Sales, which he said had helped ease the people’s cost-of-living burden.

However, to address challenges arising from the implementation of the new RM2,000 minimum wage, Hamzah proposed setting up a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Incentive Fund through the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso), alongside corporate tax relief for employers who raised workers’ wages.

“Exemptions for MSMEs exist only on paper, as small employers still risk losing workers to larger companies.

“The government needs to share the cost of this transition for several years until companies’ productivity can support the new wage level,” he said. — Bernama