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KUCHING, Aug 23: The Sarawak government is working to establish a strategic collaboration with the Swedish government on waste-to-energy (WTE) management.
According to a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) news report, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg stated that initiatives such as this are crucial in the search for a more sustainable waste disposal system in Sarawak.
According to Abang Johari, Sweden has proven to be more successful in generating energy from solid waste than other European countries due to an efficient solid waste management policy.
“I am very interested in the country’s capability in the WTE industry, where Sarawak has almost the same resources, so we also have the ability to emulate the solid waste management method in Sweden.
“It should be noted that Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia and has a population of approximately 2.3 million people, as well as numerous renewable energy sources.
“Therefore, to ensure the future welfare of the people, it is time for the State government to take action to strengthen the solid management system by generating new energy through WTE,” he said.
The Premier made the remarks while leading a Sarawak government delegation to the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday (Aug 22).
Also present were Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan; Malaysian Ambassador to Sweden, Hafizah Abdullah; Sarawak State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki; Sarawak Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (Meesty) Dr Hazland Abang Hipni; Sarawak State Attorney-General Dato Sri Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid; State Finance Secretary Dato Sri Dr Wan Lizozman Wan Omar and several Sarawak government officials.
In a separate development, Abang Johari is also interested in the cross-border electricity grid system in Sweden that exports energy to neighbouring nations including Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, and Poland.
In fact, the Premier made it clear that Sarawak has the same potential as Sweden in terms of exporting electricity to neighbouring countries like Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Earlier, Abang Johari and his entourage were briefed by Paul Westin from SEA. Immediately after the briefing, the Premier then paid a courtesy call on the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell.
The Sarawak Premier and his entourage will continue their benchmark visit to Norway today to gain insight into the development and operation of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen facilities in Bergen.
Following that, the Premier of Sarawak and his entourage will conclude their working visit in London, where they will meet with top officials from Shell at the multinational company’s headquarters. — DayakDaily
