Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is ready to serve as the nation’s first base hub for a high-impact nuclear energy programme as Malaysia works towards achieving developed-nation status by 2030, said Sabah Government Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman Datuk Masiung Banah (pic).
The Kuamut Assemblyman said the initiative could be realised through State-Federal collaboration and pursued via negotiations under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council platform.
Recalling Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof’s earlier statement that Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia are the most practical locations for nuclear development, Masiung proposed deploying a Floating Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) due to its flexible costs, faster construction, and suitability for the state's extensive coastline.
He warned that the country cannot remain overly dependent on fossil fuels, stressing that Sabah's critical electricity supply situation and an anticipated surge in power demand by 2031 require urgent long-term planning amid geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and volatile global energy markets.
Masiung added that establishing a floating nuclear facility would also provide a strategic, lower-risk solution to drastically reduce carbon emissions compared to conventional onshore plants.
