KUCHING: Dalat assemblywoman Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah hopes the pilot project to turn sago waste into biogas energy for domestic use could be expanded to her constituency in the future.
Fatimah, who is also the Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development, said this was because Mukah Division was responsible for 88 per cent of the state’s sago flour production and her constituency alone accounted for 52 per cent of the acreage planted with sago in the division.
“Having that technology implemented in Dalat could definitely assist to reduce river pollution due to sago waste, while treating the waste into becoming biogas as well as fertiliser and animal feedstock. It’s just like turning waste into wealth,” said Fatimah in a press conference after officiating the opening of Taska Qaseh Laila’s new building at Jalan Bampfylde here yesterday.
She pointed out six out of the seven sago mills in the division were located in her constituency.
“There are many smallholders in my constituency who work in the sago processing industry for generations and we hope to leverage green technologies to process the waste produced into energy,” said Fatimah.
Earlier yesterday, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between Craun Research Sdn Bhd and Knowledge Integration Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Nitsei Sago Industries Sdn Bhd for smart partnership and collaboration towards changing the state’s sago industry landscape.
Abang Johari said the collaboration would allow the state to produce biogas from sago waste to be used domestically and enable the state to produce by-products out of green technology – as part of the journey to promote renewable energy in the state.
The pilot project will start in Balingian, Mukah with a sago waste treatment plant being constructed soon.