July-August. 2025 | @ green

SARAWAK

� Sarawak plans to form an energy council to align public and private efforts in the State’ s lowcarbon transition.

Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg explained that, unlike an energy authority, the proposed council would serve as a collaborative platform, enabling businesses and industry players to work in harmony with Sarawak’ s policies.

Speaking after launching the Sarawak Energy Transition Policy( SET-P) at the Public-Industry Engagement Day hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability( MEESty) at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Abang Johari highlighted that SET-P supports Sarawak’ s shift to a lowcarbon economy.

This transition, he noted, centres on renewable and environmentally friendly energy, building on the State’ s hydrogen policy and lowcarbon policy.

He linked the initiative to global climate action frameworks, including the Kyoto and Paris agreements, as well as recent COP summits in Dubai

� RM700 billion projected over the next decade for renewable energy, hydropower, solar, and natural gas projects.

and Baku, and the upcoming conference in Brazil.

With the Sarawak Sustainability Blueprint 2030( SSB 2030) and the Sarawak Hydrogen Economy Roadmap( SHER) already in place, SET-P aligns with global standards and ESG principles.

Abang Johari emphasised Sarawak’ s advantage in renewable resources, particularly hydropower, and identified solar energy and natural gas as the following growth areas.

He projected investments of around RM700 billion over the next decade, a sector he described as highly capital-intensive. Such growth, he added, would generate skilled employment, supported by the State’ s plan to offer free tertiary education to Sarawakians awakians, preparing the workforce for the new economy.

Energy Vision: Premier Abang Johari outlines Sarawak’ s unified approach to renewable energy and sustainable growth.

� Free tertiary education for Sarawakians to build a skilled workforce for the new energy economy.

He acknowledged that while Sarawak holds abundant natural capital, human capital must be developed to integrate into the value chain of its resources fully.

This, he said, is why policies are designed to be comprehensive, enabling the younger generation to bridge the gap between natural resources and emerging global markets.

Abang Johari concluded that with a clear and inclusive energy policy, Sarawak can position itself as a global player in the energy transition, inviting contributions from all stakeholders to maximise the State’ s natural and human capital.

Sarawak’ s clean energy boost

THE Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry( DCCI) has welcomed the alignment between the core elements of the 13th Malaysia Plan( 13MP) and Sarawak’ s post-COVID development strategy, particularly the emphasis on positioning the State as a competitive regional hub for sustainable energy.

Central to this vision is the planned Sarawak Hydrogen Hub, which will strengthen energy infrastructure and reinforce Sarawak’ s role as a national investment destination.

DCCI believes the hub will play a pivotal role in helping Malaysia become a leader in high-value clean energy, while generating new, highquality jobs for Sarawakians.

The chamber is encouraging the Dayak business community to actively pursue opportunities arising from the industries linked to these hubs. As an indigenous business organisation, DCCI also supports the 13MP’ s measures to boost socioeconomic development among Sarawak’ s Bumiputra population.

These include greater access to commercial premises, financing, entrepreneurship training, and mentoring programmes.

DCCI stressed that access to such opportunities must effectively reach the intended groups, especially in rural communities.

It advocates targeted outreach strategies to identify and engage potential entrepreneurs in remote areas, along with regular monitoring to ensure initiatives deliver tangible benefits. Enhancing skills training in rural areas is considered crucial to promoting inclusive growth.- @ green

SARAWAK is developing its own hydrogen certification platform as part of its ambition to emerge as a leading hydrogen hub for ASEAN.

The platform will be aligned with international standards to ensure transparency and traceability, boosting trade, reducing friction, and enhancing buyer confidence. State leaders see it as a potential foundation for an ASEAN-wide certification system.

The hydrogen initiative is part of the Sarawak Hydrogen Economy Roadmap, which is a key element of the Sarawak Sustainability Blueprint 2030.

The roadmap aims to connect clean energy with industrial transformation, trade, innovation, and economic diversification. Major projects such as H2biscus and H2ornbill are already advancing through their Front-End Engineering Design phases.

H2biscus, led by SEDC Energy in partnership with three South Korean companies, will produce green and blue ammonia, green methanol, and green hydrogen at the Sarawak Hydrogen Hub in Bintulu.

While green hydrogen will be used domestically, the ammonia and methanol will be exported to South Korea. H2ornbill, involving Japanese partners Eneos and Sumitomo, will also be based in Bintulu, with the two projects together capable of producing up to 240,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.

Domestically, Sarawak is scaling up hydrogen applications. In Rembus, a hydrogen plant producing 5,000kg daily will power the Kuching Urban Transportation System’ s autonomous rapid transit trams and hydrogen buses from 2026.

Multi-fuel stations supplying hydrogen are already operational in Kuching, and Malaysia’ s first hydrogen-powered hybrid clinic in Long Loyang now provides 24-hour electricity from solar and rainwater, supporting healthcare for over 2,000 residents.

Sarawak’ s hydrogen strategy is built on five priorities: scaling costcompetitive hubs, expanding domestic demand, securing long-term export agreements, building shared regional infrastructure, and investing in human capital and technology exchange.

H2biscus Blueprint: A detailed schematic maps out the H2biscus hydrogen production facility within the Sarawak Hydrogen Hub.