KUCHING, Oct 30: There are currently ongoing discussions for Singapore to import renewable energy from Sarawak, in which the Federal government of Malaysia will lend its assistance in hastening the process.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highlighted that this initiative comes as a response to Singapore’s growing investments, particularly in establishing data centres within Malaysian borders.
“Our commitment is to expedite Sarawak’s proposal to export energy to Indonesia and Singapore,” said Anwar in a joint press conference with his Singaporean counterpart Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the 10th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat held today in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Lee remarked that Malaysia and Singapore will continue to boost their ties on renewable energy.
“We have agreed to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy. Singapore and Malaysia are both moving towards a low carbon and sustainable future and we are pursuing cross-border electricity trading which will be a win-win partnership for both countries.
“The renewable energy potentially can come from both Peninsular Malaysia as well as from East Malaysia,” he stated.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement issued following the retreat, both leaders affirmed the commitment to collaborate on renewable energy co-development and cross-border electricity trading.
They acknowledged the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Singapore Power and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to explore the technical feasibility of a second interconnector.
“The Plentong-Woodlands Interconnector had been upgraded in October 2022 to facilitate bidirectional electricity flows of approximately 1000 MW between the two countries.
“These efforts will further enhance energy security and enable greater renewable energy integration.
“Both Leaders also took the opportunity to reiterate their countries’ shared goal of strengthening regional interconnectivity through multilateral cross-border electricity trading initiatives such as the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) and the ASEAN Power Grid,” it said.
The statement continued, “Both leaders also looked forward to energy collaboration on other fronts, such as the sharing of low-carbon and renewable energy technologies, carbon capture and storage, and carbon credits.
“In this regard, both leaders noted the ongoing discussions for Singapore to import renewable energy from Sarawak in which the Federal government of Malaysia will give its assistance in accelerating the process.”
Today marks the beginning of Anwar’s two-day working visit to Singapore for the 10th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said that the visit would mark the first meeting between Anwar and Lee within the framework of the Leaders’ Retreat.
The Leaders’ Retreat is the highest-level bilateral mechanism between the two countries, held alternately since 2007. — DayakDaily
