EU and Aus Gov made appeals to Malaysia on behalf of Lynas, page-6

Singling out LYC is right on the money. ( I did not get past the paywall)

Malaysia has more than 6000mwh of coal fired power generation and it is well known Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste

But when coal is burned into fly ash, uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original levels.
"As a general clarification, ounce for ounce, coal ash released from a power plant delivers more radiation than nuclear waste shielded via water or dry cask storage."
The chances of experiencing adverse health effects from radiation are slim for both nuclear and coal-fired power plants—they're just somewhat higher for the coal ones. "You're talking about one chance in a billion for nuclear power plants," Christensen says. "And it's one in 10 million to one in a hundred million for coal plants."

The above is interesting but how does it compare to the two by products LYC makes
The WLP residue, although classified as a radioactive material, has the same radioactivity level as the feedstock material used in the LAMP process (about 6 Bq/g of Th). This material is classified as very low level radioactive material. The LAMP operation does not enhance or alter the natural radioactivity. By way of example, material with similar levels of radioactivity can be used in road base material in the United Kingdom." is from LYC Link

Rocks used in Road base may be more radioactive! Coal is more radioactive than nuclear waste and the Malaysian government picks on both of our byproducts Neutralization Underflow Residue (NUF) and the Water Leached Purification Residue (WLP).

Its not about science clearly.