07/08/2025

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THURSDAY | AUG 7, 2025

Fresh impetus for green energy push KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s push for a low-carbon future gained new momentum yesterday as senior government and financial leaders pledged deeper collaboration to accelerate energy transition. o Senior government and financial leaders pledge stronger collaboration to accelerate Malaysia’s transition to low-carbon future Ű BY DEEPALAKSHMI MANICKAM sunbiz@thesundaily.com tutions to scale up investments in green infrastructure and support SMEs in decarbonising supply chains, highlighting Malaysia’s global leadership in Islamic sustainable finance. powered data centres in Johor and landfill gas capture facilities. Wan Kamaruzaman said, “Finance is the oxygen of the transition. When we do our job well, engineers can design boldly, entrepreneurs can scale quickly and policymakers can lift their ambitions.” The event also marked the forma

“Transitioning to a clean economy isn’t a cost, it’s an investment,” he said, noting that Malaysia requires US$143 billion (RM605 billion) in financing by 2050 to meet its transi tion goals. Meanwhile, MBSB Group chair man Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad said sustainability is “not a standalone initiative” but embedded at the core of the group’s corporate strategy. “These are not slogans. We are financing Malaysia’s green future – one locomotion upgrade, one rooftop solar system, one waste to energy facility at a time.” He disclosed that MBSB mobilised RM4.75 billion in sustainable and transition aligned financing in 2024, about 30% of its total financing for the year. Over the past 18 months, nearly RM3 billion has been channelled into projects including low emission locomotives for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, Malaysia’s first floating solar array at Pantai Remis, renewable

5km radius to jointly use and manage renewable energy resources. “This is about democratising energy,” Fadillah said, adding that communities can govern their own usage, and not just individuals any more. On future energy sources, he said nuclear power remained under study, with no decision expected until after 2030. “Safety, social well being and environmental concerns must all be evaluated thoroughly. It’s too early to say whether we will use it or not.” Large scale solar development remains a central pillar of Malaysia’s renewable push. The recently con cluded LSS Petra 5+ programme will add 2GW of solar capacity by 2027, but any subsequent LSS6 round will hinge on actual consumption data rather than projected demand, particularly from data centres. Fadillah called on financial insti

tested and adapted at scale. “Since its inception, NTIS has supported numerous innovative solutions, focusing on applications ranging from precision drones to AI diagnostics and renewable energy systems.” Additionally, Malaysia is investing in talent as an estimated 600,000 Malaysians will need to be reskilled over the next three to five years due to artificial intelligence and automation. “Mosti is addressing this challenge through structured training path ways, academic-industry part nerships, and regional innovation exchanges.” Mohammad Yusof said that as chair of Asean, Malaysia is com mitted to leading efforts that drive regional integration and forward looking cooperation. “One of our key priorities is to accelerate innovation and tech nology-driven development – not only within our borders, but across the wider Asean community.” The soft launch was attended by the embassy of China’s science and technology counsellor Dr Zhao Xiangdong and second secretary for science and technology Dr Zhang Tianhang. The Asean Technology Coopera tion and Development Summit 2025, organised by Intrinsic SEA, will be held alongside WE2025: Future in Motion, a three-day programme from Nov 25 to 27 organised by Qube Integrated Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The summit, to be held on Nov The country, he said, was on track to achieve 40% by 2035 and 70% by 2050 under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR). As Asean chair this year, Malaysia will spearhead efforts to expand the Asean Power Grid and cross border renewable energy trading. The Energy Exchange Malaysia, launched last year, enabled the first exports of renewable energy to Singapore. Later, speaking at a press con ference, Fadillah confirmed up coming reforms to the Net Energy Metering Scheme, which currently allows solar users to sell excess power back to the grid. “People who don’t have solar panels still pay the full tariff, so we must revisit the system to make it more equitable,” he said. Two mechanisms are being introduced: Selco, which promotes self consumption of solar energy with optional battery storage and KRIM, which allows communities within a

lisation of a strategic partnership between MBSB and Cypark Resources Bhd to advance renewable energy and waste to energy initiatives. Looking ahead, MBSB will opera tionalise a syariah and sustainability centre of excellence to co-create Islamic green finance instruments, launch a client transition support programme with sector specific toolkits and advisory services, and publish a third party verified baseline of its operational emissions. The group has also pledged 50,000 volun teer hours for community and environmental initiatives by 2030. The event drew senior repre sentatives from the Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Na sional Bhd, corporate partners and SMEs, underscoring the impor tance of public-private collabora tion in achieving Malaysia’s cli mate ambitions.

This pledge came about when Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof reaffirmed the government’s commit ment to build a resilient, affordable and inclusive energy system “Our energy transition must be people centred, regionally aligned and grounded in realism,” Fadillah said in his keynote address at MBSB Group’s Ministerial Luncheon Talk on “Driving the Green Energy Transition” yesterday. “We are not chasing ideals, we are shaping outcomes,” he emphasised. He stressed that the transition is not merely about technology but about trust, empowerment and safeguarding livelihoods. Fadillah disclosed that as of July, renewable energy accounted for 31% of Malaysia’s electricity mix, led by solar capacity exceeding 4,200MW. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is ex panding its investment in research and development (R&D) as part of its push to become a high technology nation by 2030, said Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal. He highlighted that Malaysia’s gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) reached 1.01% of gross domestic product in 2022, a notable increase, with more than 51% contributed by the industry sector. “Looking ahead, we are targeting GERD to reach 2.5% by 2030, in line with our national goal of transforming into a high technology nation,” Mohammad Yusof said in his speech at the soft launch of the Asean Technology Cooperation and Development Summit 2025 yesterday. He said the mission of the Science, Technology and Inno vation Ministry (Mosti) is anchored in a vision to transform Malaysia from a technology user into a technology developer with global market capabilities by 2030. “We are committed to unlocking value through innovation that is commercially viable, socially in clusive, and globally relevant.” Mohammad Yusuf said the government is accelerating real world innovation with the National Technology and Innovation Sand box (NTIS), providing a platform for pre-commercial technologies to be Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

M’sia expands R&D investment to become high-tech nation by 2030

Mohammad Yusof Apdal (centre) receiving a token of appreciation from Qube Integrated executive chairman Richard Teo during the Asean Technology Cooperation and Development Summit 2025 soft launch yesterday. On the left is Intrinsic SEA CEO Ravenna Chen.

innovators and ecosystem leaders from Asean, China, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Japan. It will feature a technology exhibition with over 100 booths highlighting innovations across key sectors. The summit is expected to attract more than 50,000 livestream viewers.

healthcare and digital medicine, future consumer and digital commerce, future building and safety emergency response, and future employment and entre-preneurship. The two-day event is set to convene over 100 companies, more than 50 global investors, and 2,000

25 and 26 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur, is expected to secure over RM200 million in innovation and investment deals. Themed “Future in Motion,” it will focus on five pillars – future mobility and smart transportation, future