A. AZIM IDRIS New Straits Times 20 Jan 15;
PUTRAJAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Mah Siew Keong today reiterated that the decision on whether or not to deploy nuclear energy for power generation will only be made upon the completion of a comprehensive set of studies.
He said current studies were focused on the evaluation of the national and legal regulatory infrastructure for a comprehensive national nuclear governance in line with the latest international best practice.
“Parallel studies are to evaluate the feasibility and public opinion on nuclear energy for electricity generation,” he said after receiving a courtesy call from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Yukiya Amano, at his office in Presint 2, here, this evening.
Also present was Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation chief executive officer Dr Mohd Zamzam Jaafar.
Mah said Malaysia is working closely with the IAEA to asses the level of national capabilities and state-of-preparedness for the use of nuclear energy, which was in line with the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
He added it would take a period of at least 10 to 12 years before any nuclear power plant would be operational in the country if the government decided to utilise the form of energy.
“This is why we will not hasten any decision because there are many factors that have to be taken into consideration, including the public's opinion,” he said.
