KUCHING: Malaysia is taking proactive steps to strengthen energy cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through enhancements to the ASEAN Power Grid Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia has established power-sharing networks with three ASEAN countries namely Thailand, Singapore and Laos.
In the energy business sector, agreements have also been reached between Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as between Sarawak and Singapore.
He emphasised the importance of this power grid in enabling the trade of electricity, including renewable energy, between states and countries.
“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 yesterday (Nov 15).
With the same concept and mechanism, Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation believes it can be applied to cooperation with other ASEAN countries, including the Borneo Grid involving Sarawak and Kalimantan, Brunei Darussalam, Sabah, and potentially the Philippines in the future.
“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 added.
Earlier, when speaking at the same event, he called on ASEAN member states to continue working closely in both the energy and economic sectors, ultimately positioning the region as one of the richest in the world.
