Malaysia moving closer to adopting nuclear energy, says Chang Lih Kang

The Star

3 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is moving a step closer towards adopting nuclear energy as part of its long-term energy transition strategy, with the government having completed a pre-feasibility study on nuclear power, says Chang Lih Kang.
The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said the study's initial findings indicated that nuclear energy has strong potential to serve as a stable, clean and reliable power source for the country.
'In line with this, six technical task forces have been proposed to support nuclear energy readiness.
'Three of these are under the ministry, focusing on technology and industry development, the development of nuclear competencies and a legal and regulatory framework,' he said in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (July 30).
According to him, the remaining three teams fall under the purview of the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry.
According to Chang, the country currently has 323 nuclear researchers under the Malaysian Nuclear Agency and 36 science officers under the Atomic Energy Department, with 61 of them holding qualifications in nuclear science and engineering.
'This reflects the country's continued commitment to building local expertise to support the safe and responsible advancement of nuclear technology,' he said.
He added that Malaysia was working to amend its Atomic Energy Act (RUUTA) to allow for the ratification of key international treaties and conventions under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
'Once approved by Cabinet, we aim to table the amended Act in this Parliament session.
'This will demonstrate Malaysia's seriousness in exploring nuclear energy as one of our power generation options,' he said.
Chang also confirmed that Malaysia signed a strategic civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States on July 10, complementing its existing collaborations with China and Russia.
'The agreement will act as a catalyst for long-term cooperation in infrastructure development, joint research, technical training and local industry strengthening,' he added.
He said Malaysia is also working closely with the IAEA through technical cooperation programmes, regional partnerships, the Asian Nuclear Cooperation Forum and coordinated research projects.
Beyond power generation, he said nuclear technology was also being used in climate and environmental research.
'This includes isotopic techniques for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, landslide management, ocean acidification and groundwater lifespan,' said Chang.
The IAEA recognises nuclear science as contributing to the 13th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on climate action, he added.
In agriculture, he said Malaysia was also using nuclear-related techniques for plant mutation breeding to produce climate-resilient crops and to support disease control.
Responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu), Chang acknowledged that Malaysia still needs to ratify several international treaties before advancing nuclear development.
On thorium research, he said local lab-scale extraction projects have shown encouraging results, though Malaysia has yet to begin R&D on thorium-based power generation.
'We are progressively upgrading our research capabilities and working with countries such as China, India, Russia and the United States that have advanced expertise in this area,' he said.