The Malaysian Insight

MALAYSIA will eschew nuclear energy in favour of renewable energy because of the competitive price range of the latter, Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said.

Yeo said price drops in renewable energy technology have made it a viable source of power. 

“If you are looking at solar panels, the price has dropped 80% since 2009.

“If you are looking at other renewable energies, they are becoming more mature.” Yeo said at Putrajaya today.

She said there is a lot more potential to be untapped or unlocked in renewable energy sources, and the government is looking to do just that.

“We will be focusing on renewable energy instead of nuclear energy. ” she said.

Yesterday, Yeo announced that the Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation (MNCP) will be shut down this year.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has made it clear in the past that he is opposed to nuclear energy, which he said generates waste that is hard to dispose of, and which carries the threat of radiation.

in August last year, he had said that it had been the government’s policy not to use nuclear plants to produce electricity.

“That was the policy during my time as the 4th prime minister but it was not (like that for) the 5th and 6th prime ministers.

“But now I am back,” he said. – January 29, 2019.