KUALA LUMPUR: The government does not plan to establish a new entity to regulate the rare earth element (REE) industry in the country, says Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

He said this is because the existing legal framework and Federal Constitution are already sufficient to manage and regulate the industry since the development of the mineral material is under the jurisdiction of the state government.

"...but we encourage local industries to be competitive by penetrating the REE industry market from upstream to downstream.

"We want to reduce dependence on foreign countries to develop the industry, and we are aware that it is among the strategic industries involved in geopolitical competition at the international level," he said at the winding up of the Supply Bill 2025 for his ministry, at the Dewan Negara on Thursday (Dec 12).

Therefore, moving forward, Nik Nazmi said the government has recently established a special task force to discuss issues and set the direction for the development of the REE industry at all levels.

Meanwhile, on the proposal for the federal government to be the mediator to resolve the Kedah state government's claim against Penang regarding its contribution to the cost of conserving the Ulu Muda Kedah forest which is a source of water supply for both states, Nik Nazmi said this matter needs to be viewed holistically.

He understood the issue raised by the Kedah state government was because there are several river basins in the country across state borders and therefore it requires the government to come up with an integrated river basin management plan.

"In the Kedah-Penang context, they (Kedah) feel that for the water supply in Penang, the Kedah government has a burden or responsibility to preserve the area but in the current legal or constitutional framework, there is no provision (for joint river basin management).

"In Australia, there is (provided in the legislation) regarding integrated river basin management. In our country, it has indeed been proposed but has not yet received agreement at the state level.

"In this regard, it needs to be discussed further so that a win-win solution can be created to safeguard the issue or water supply in each state," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Aiman ​​Athirah Sabu in her winding up for the ministry said that 31 out of 155 local authorities have implemented the policy of 1% employment opportunity in the public service for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), to date.

She said the appointments involved 18 PwDs as council members and 146 PwDs as local council employees, whether permanent, temporary or contract.

"The government fully supports the efforts of local councils to uphold the involvement of PwDs in their respective organisational structures and service delivery systems, in line with the desire to uphold the interests of an inclusive, fair and inclusive public service," she said. - Bernama