KOTA KINABALU, April 11 ― Malaysia is moving towards becoming a marketing hub for electric vehicles and is targeting 100,000 electric cars, 100 electric motorcycles, 2,000 electric buses and 125,000 charger stations to be in the country by 2030.
Energy, Green technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili said the objective of making Malaysia a marketing hub for electric vehicles was contained in the National Green Technology Master Plan and the Electric Mobility Blueprint (EMB).
“With that as the target, the government’s transport sector has to start developing the developing the Green Technology Sector more aggressively. Public awareness is also crucial to produce a landscape of low carbon mobility in Malaysia.
“Therefore, consumers have to be convinced that electric vehicles are an option which is comparable with the existing vehicles they have now,” he added.
He said this when opening the “Sikal Elektrik Rakyat 1Malaysia” (SER1M) programme at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) near here today.
Ongkili said the National Green Technology Master Plan and EMB were implemented to address the issue on reducing greenhouse gas emission which focused on developing the electric vehicle industry.
“EMB is part of the government’s effort to introduce electric vehicles to replace diesel/petrol vehicles.
“Expansion of the use of electric vehicles is important to reduce dependence on fossil fuel which is the source of energy for all air, marine and land transportation,” he added.
In another development, Ongkili said the Finance Ministry had allocated RM4 million last year for the SER1M programme, with the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry as the implementing agency.
He said under the programme, a total of 1,200 electric bicycles or Electric Pedal Assisted Bicycle (EPAB) would be handed over to six public universities, namely Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and UMS.
“Each university will get 200 electric bicycles which will be handed over in stages. UMS is the first university to receive the bicycles,” he said.
He said the programme was aimed at promoting green technology through green practices by the young people, especially university students.
The bicycles are produced by a local company Voltron Malaysia Sdn Bhd. ― Bernama
