Malaysia Not In 'Pressing Need' To Adopt Nuclear Power - PM Anwar
From Anas Abu Hassan
DAVOS (Switzerland), Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia is not in “pressing need” to adopt nuclear power as Malaysia still sees much potential in solar power and the ASEAN Power Grid (APG).
However, the prime minister does not dismiss the "possibility" of having the said energy especially with the country having massive data centres in the pipeline.
“But notwithstanding, just to make sure because the consuming (energy) of data centres is huge and in every meeting... people have been suggesting they want to put up small modular reactors (SMRs) and I don't want to frustrate them because that's part of the overall artificial intelligence (AI) requirements, which means that the nuclear option is there.
“I know Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have embarked on this and I'm trying to get us to work together to show that we have a better budgeting position,” he told a media briefing at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 here on Tuesday when asked on whether Malaysia is looking at promoting nuclear power especially SMR.
The prime minister is currently on a three-day working visit to attend the World Economic Forum 2025, which is the first for him since becoming prime minister in 2022.
SMRs, which are capable of producing around 300 megawatts of electricity, could be integrated into existing building infrastructures or connected to the national grid with a relatively smaller footprint and cost.
It is said that SMRs could offer a potential alternative for data centres that need reliable and scalable power.
-- BERNAMA