Adham Baba: EVs can drive Malaysia to be a high-income nation by 2030

While our neighbours in Southeast Asia are gearing up for an electric revolution in mobility, Malaysia has been lagging behind. However, the government is looking into solutions to help drive the development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Through the NanoMalaysia Energy Storage Technology Initiative (NESTI) Programme, the government has taken early steps towards strengthening the development, validation, and commercialisation of local EV technology development.

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In a statement, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said that this can drive economic growth and job creation in line with aspirations to make Malaysia a high-tech and high-income nation by 2030.

To strengthen the EV technology, Dr Adham said that the Ministry used a ‘whole of nation’ approach to enhance acceptance of the technology and further achieve the goal of positioning the country as the next Wakanda a renowned exporter of EV components in the ASEAN region.

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Besides the NESTI programme, NanoMalaysia also has another initiative in the works called the Enabling Mobility Electrification for Green Economy (EMERGE) programme. This initiative aims to develop off-grid charging stations and EV prototypes among others.

A side initiative under the EMERGE programme called the Rapid Electric Vehicles Innovation Validation Ecosystem (REVIVE) has also been created. This third acronym focuses on the conversion of regular internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric ones.

Dr Adham added that “EV technology also has great potential for public transport and delivery services by 2030,"

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Will this initiative come into fruition within the next 9 years or will it just remain some vision concocted by a government-linked organisation?

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