MIGHT, Universities Collaborate To Advance REE As Malaysia's Next Flagship Industry
MIGHT President and Chief Executive Officer Rushdi Abdul Rahim said the collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) was also a major step for Malaysia to establish technology sovereignty in the area with an interconnected ecosystem.
'The initiative also aims to shape national priorities on REE, including talent development and capability building, knowledge exchange, research expertise and technical resources to support mutual research, innovation, and capacity-building initiatives,' he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by MIGHT.
The tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for strategic cooperation was signed today by Rushdi on behalf of MIGHT, while vice-chancellors Prof Dr Arham Abdullah and Prof Dr Yatimah Alias represented UMK and UMPSA, respectively.
The three-year collaboration aims to boost national-level research initiatives and enhance academic curricula and training programmes in REE and advanced materials. These will focus on innovations with strong potential for intellectual property generation and future commercialisation.
According to the statement, Malaysia possesses significant REE resources, estimated at 16.1 million metric tonnes of non-radioactive REEs (NR-REEs), valued at RM1 trillion, positioning the country among the leaders in the Southeast Asian region alongside Vietnam and Myanmar.
It said by the year 2030, the expected downstream production of Malaysia's non-radioactive REEs is projected to generate RM13.59 billion in revenue, primarily from the manufacturing of super magnets and electric motors.
In the same statement, Prof Yatimah noted that such projections raise concerns regarding sustainability, supply chain resilience, and environmental impact, thus calling for a more responsible path for REE industry development.
'Since 2013, UMPSA's Centre for Sustainability of Mineral and Resource Recovery Technology (SMAaRRT) has been developing capabilities across the full REE value chain, ranging from soil leaching, solvent extraction, impurity removal to pilot-scale technology validation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Indonesia court jails former trade minister for four-and-a-half years in sugar graft case
Former trade minister Thomas Lembong was found guilty of improperly granting sugar import permits. -- PHOTO: REUTERS JAKARTA (Reuters): An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah (US$36.84 million) in state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta, said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tons, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied that his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing down the sentence, the judges had argued that the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong told reporters after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team. His lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday. ($1 = 16,285.0000 rupiah) (Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Sharon Singleton) - Reuters
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Philippines eyes favourable US trade deal as Marcos set to meet Trump
MANILA (Bloomberg): The Philippines hopes to secure a trade agreement with the US when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discusses a planned US tariff during his meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, according to a Manila official. Marcos will also seek to bolster US-Philippine security ties during his July 20-22 visit, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Raquel Solano said at a briefing on Friday. The trip by Marcos, set to be the first Southeast Asian leader to visit Trump during his second presidency, comes after the Trump administration increased the tariff on Philippine goods to the US to 20% from 17% starting in August, raising concern from its longtime ally. Ahead of Marcos, Philippine government officials including Trade Secretary Cristina Roque flew to Washington this week for tariff talks. "We hope of course to arrive at a bilateral trade agreement or a deal on reciprocal trade that is mutually acceptable, mutually beneficial for both our countries,' Solano said. The Philippines initially held trade talks with the US in May in its bid to lower an earlier threatened 17% levy in April. To secure that, Roque had said Manila plans to increase imports of US farm goods, including soybeans and frozen meat, and boost exports of semiconductors, coconut and mango products to the US. "We will continue to underscore that for the Philippines to be a truly strong partner for the United States, we need to be stronger economically as well,' Solano said. Trump and Marcos will discuss "closer cooperation in economic, defense and security matters of common interest,' she added. The issue on the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are locked in competing maritime claims, will also be tackled, Solano said, as well the possible deployment of military assets in the region. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Indonesia court jails former trade minister in sugar graft case
JAKARTA: An Indonesian court today sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah (RM156,155) state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tonnes, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing the sentence, the judges had argued the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong said after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team. His lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment today. - REUTERS
