KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): The federal government is in the final stages of discussions with Sarawak over a proposal to sell energy from the Borneo state to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Parliament on Tuesday.

“Sarawak has benefited from, and we have approved, the sale of energy from Sarawak to Indonesia’s upcoming new capital Nusantara [in] Kalimantan, and from Sarawak to Sabah.

“And now, [we are] in the final stages [of] our agreement [for the sale of energy] from Sarawak to Singapore, and from Sarawak to the peninsula, agreed by the governments of Sarawak, Singapore and Malaysia,” Anwar (Pakatan Harapan-Tambun) said during the minister’s question time in the Dewan Rakyat.

The approach, Anwar said, shows the federal government’s commitment to upholding all the agreements stipulated under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

He was responding to questions from Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Keningau) on the federal government’s efforts and funding to accelerate economic development in Sabah and Sarawak.

Singapore is seeking up to four gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy from its neighbours.

While Indonesia and Laos have taken early steps to commit to exporting to the island state, Malaysia is currently ironing out the mechanisms that it intends to use. A paper is scheduled to be tabled before the Cabinet this month.

At the Sustainability & Renewable Energy Forum (SAREF) 3.0 in September, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said that the state is in advanced stages of negotiations on export of up to 1GW renewable energy to Singapore.

This will be done through undersea cable linking the two states, with Singapore responsible for building the 700km submarine cable, according to Sarawak Energy Bhd.

This month, Abang Johari also said that the peninsula will have to build its own cables to Sarawak if it wants to buy renewable energy from the state. Estimates in the late 90s of costs to build such cables from Sarawak to the peninsula came in at RM7 billion.

Sarawak’s key renewable energy generation comes from the 2.4GW Bakun Dam, and the state aims to generate 8GW of hydro energy by 2030.

For more Parliament stories, click here.