Premier: Sarawak will not be exporting rare earth elements

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By Marlynda Meraw

KUCHING, Oct 29: Sarawak will not be exporting rare earth elements (REEs) says Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg during the National Environment Day 2025 (Sarawak-level) celebration at a resort in Sematan today.

According to Abang Johari, REEs are crucial for advanced technologies and increasingly sought after by renewable energy industries and should be used locally.

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“That’s why China doesn’t export (their) rare earth (elements). It’s very significant,” he said.

Sarawak, as Abang Johari said, have REEs; which was one of the reasons a research-focused campus was set to be established in Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak.

“That’s why I asked for us to do a research centre and ask our new generation to learn material science,” he added.

REEs are a group of 17 metallic elements that include the 15 lanthanides on the periodic table, along with scandium and yttrium. They are important as they are used in many high-tech applications, such as smartphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other advanced electronics. —DayakDaily