KUCHING: Malaysia is stepping up efforts to deepen regional energy cooperation through enhancements to the ASEAN Power Grid Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof said.
Fadillah said Malaysia has already established power-sharing arrangements with Thailand, Singapore and Laos, alongside energy-sector agreements with Vietnam and a separate Sarawak–Singapore arrangement.
He said strengthening these links is essential to support electricity trade across borders, particularly for renewable
energy.
“We need to upgrade our grid system so that all renewable energy can be integrated into the system, and the same goes for Sarawak — we need to upgrade the grid so we can begin selling that energy,” he told reporters after officiating the Malam
Warisan Budaya Bangsa Madani Berkhidmat: Misi Sukarelawan Siswa YSS-ASEAN Ke Sarawak 2025 programme here on Saturday.
Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said similar frameworks could support broader ASEAN cooperation, including the proposed Borneo Grid connecting Sarawak, Kalimantan, Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and potentially the Philippines.
“So these are the mechanisms we will refine later, but successful examples already exist, such as the cooperation between Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. This concept can be applied to all other ASEAN member countries,” he said.
Earlier, at the same event, Fadillah urged ASEAN nations to strengthen collaboration in both energy and economic sectors, saying such unity could help position the region “as one of the richest in the world.”
