Energy is often known as the catalyst for development. Globally, the per capita consumption of energy is often used as a barometer to measure the level of economic development in a particular country. Realizing the importance of energy as a vital component in economic and social development, the government of Malaysia has been continuously reviewing its energy policy to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply. Concentrated efforts are being undertaken to ensure the sustainability of energy resources, both depletable and renewable. The aim of this paper is to describe the various energy policies adopted in Malaysia to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply. The role of both, non-renewable and renewable sources of energy in the current Five-Fuel Diversification Strategy energy mix will also be discussed. Apart from that, this paper will also describe the various alternative energy and the implementation of energy efficiency program in Malaysia.
Life is a continuous process of energy conversion and transformation. The accomplishment of civilization has largely been accomplished due to the increasing efficient and extensive harnessing of various forms of energy to extend human capabilities and ingenuity. Energy is thus one of the indispensable factors for continuous development and economic growth (Rogner and Popescu, 2001). However, at the same time, energy production can contribute to local environment degradation, such as air pollution and global environmental problems, principally climate change. Lately, the demand for energy is expected to increase worldwide over the next 24 years (International Energy Outlook, 2004), both in the industrial countries and particularly in the developing countries like Malaysia where rapid economic growth is expected. Fig. 1 shows the energy demand for Malaysia in the year 1999, 2002 and estimated values for 2005, 2010 (Thaddeus, 2002; UK Trade & Investment, 2003). It can be seen that the energy demand in Malaysia increases rapidly as the energy demand increase almost 20% within the last 3 years (from 1999 to 2002). The energy demand is further expected to increase to 18,000 MW by the year 2010. In order to meet the increasing demand of energy in Malaysia, a major challenge facing the power industry will be having an effective and sustainable energy policy. An effective and sustainable energy policy has two main considerations. The first consideration is to increase access to affordable, modern energy services in countries that is lacking and secondly, to find the mix of energy resources and technologies (efficiencies) that will reduce the adverse environmental impacts of providing necessary energy services (Spalding-Fecher et al., 2005). Since all the urban areas and 93% of the rural areas in Malaysia have access to electricity (World Employment Report, 2001), the crucial challenge facing the power sector in Malaysia currently is the issue of sustainability that is to ensure the security and reliability of energy supply and the diversification of the various energy resources. The question of security and reliability of supply is critical, to ensure smooth implementation of development projects to spur economic growth in Malaysia while diversification of energy resources is critical to ensure that the country is not dependent only on a single source of energy (Leo-Moggie, 1996). At the same time, these challenges must be met without having adverse effect on the environment to ensure sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the various energy policies adopted in Malaysia to ensure long-term reliability, sustainability and security of energy supply. The role of both, non-renewable and renewable sources of energy in the current Five-Fuel Diversification Strategy energy mix will also be discussed. Apart from that, this paper will also describe the various alternative energy and the implementation of energy efficiency program in Malaysia.
The Malaysian energy sector is still heavily dependent on non-renewable fuel such as fossil fuels and natural gas as a source of energy. These non-renewable fuels are finite and gradually depleting and also contribute to the emission of greenhouse gas. While it is recognized that the world, including Malaysia is not ready to displace non-renewable energy with renewable fuels, the implementation of various policies and programs by the government of Malaysia has increased the awareness of the importance of the role of renewable energy in a sustainable energy system. However, non-government agencies and the public will have to take a more proactive step to coordinate, promote and use energy generated based on renewable resources before we can see a wider utilization of renewable energy in Malaysia. Apart from that, close cooperation within the countries in this region can also further promote the use of renewable energy.
