KOTA SAMARAHAN: Malaysia may turn to nuclear power in 13 years time or after 2030, said Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation (MNPC) CEO Mohd Zamzam Jaafar.
However, usage will be focused in Peninsular Malaysia only because of their current limited capability of generating their own power, he said.
Currently, Peninsular Malaysia generates its power from coal (52 percent), gas (45 percent) and hydro (three percent), a far cry from Sarawak which has many hydroelectric dams.
“We will only use nuclear power in Peninsular Malaysia because the demand there is much higher at around 18,000 megawatt. Sarawak only uses 2,000 megawatt,” he said.
He was speaking at a press conference on the seminar ‘Memenuhi Aspirasi’ Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) at Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN) Sarawak recently, while accompanying Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Nancy Shukri.
According to Mohd Zamzam, Malaysia was in the process of planning for its nuclear power use which included building the first nuclear power plant.
MNPC will cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to evaluate the nation’s readiness to develop a nuclear power programme.
“This evaluation is in three phases. We are still in the first, which is where we make a decision. The second phase is to build and the third is to operate. But for now, we have not made a decision.”
Mohd Zamzam also explained that the decision to move to nuclear power is because it is clean and safe, as well as needed not only in Malaysia but also in many countries such as Japan and China.