PUTRAJAYA (March 6): Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli said that Malaysia should focus on producing alternative energy sources such as biomass, ammonia, and hydrogen in order to fulfil sufficient energy needs in the coming years.
He believes that the focus on these alternative energies will match the advantages of the economy, as well as the geography and expertise that Malaysia has.
“Other countries have to consider nuclear energy because they have no space, but we have space. Let these three energy sources be in our economy so as to reduce our dependence on gas,” he said on Monday (March 6).
“[It's] better if we sell gas, to export and generate national income, than we use it for in the country if we have other choices,” Rafizi spoke at a media briefing following the release of the consumer price index for January 2023.
He said several discussions were held in the initial stage to speed up the usage of biomass technology, especially in the farming ecosystem.
Also, Rafizi said the expertise Malaysia had in oil and gas production does not differ much from working on a petrochemical plant to produce hydrogen.
“To ensure hydrogen can be a well-received source in the wider market, we need to build that market, which means we also need to sign long-term contracts with hydrogen buyers. Anyway, demand for hydrogen is high now, for example in Singapore and Japan,” he said.