The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra) has proposed amendments to the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984, to allow Malaysia to ratify international instruments on nuclear safety and regulation.
According to a report by The Edge, Deputy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir was quoted as saying that the proposed changes would also pave the way for nuclear energy to be considered as a national electricity source.
“We are aware that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) had previously amended the Act.
“However, at Petra, we have expressed our intention to amend the Act to allow Malaysia to ratify the international instruments it has agreed to sign, thereby enabling nuclear energy to be developed as a national energy source,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Rodziah Ismail (PH-Ampang) on the expected timeline for drafting and tabling a nuclear energy regulatory bill in Parliament.
Akmal Nasrullah said the government is currently conducting a comprehensive and phased assessment of nuclear energy potential as one of the options in the country’s energy mix, in line with the target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
