‘We won’t use nuclear power’
Science has yet to discover ways to address nuke waste, radiation, says PM
MALAYSIA will not use nuclear power plants to generate energy, as science has yet to find ways to manage nuclear waste and the effects of radiation, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Dr Mahathir said there had been numerous incidents related to nuclear use worldwide, such as in Chernobyl, Ukraine, and the latest in Fukushima, Japan, which led to people suffering from radiation.
Malaysia, he said, would continue to rely on fuel sources to generate electricity, such as fossil fuel, coal, hydroelectric dams and wind power, which he said were stable and environment-friendly.
“There are two things that I am against. Smokers are not allowed to come near me and nuclear is not the solution to generating electricity,” he said in his keynote address at the launch of the Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry 2018 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here yesterday.
Present were Energy, Science, Technology, Climate Change and Environment Minister Minister Yeo Bee Yin and Tenaga Nasional Bhd chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie.
Dr Mahathir said the country’s fifth and sixth prime ministers might have agreed to nuclear energy, but remarked that “now I am back”.
He said despite advancements in science, a solution to nuclear radiation and waste had yet to be discovered. He said it was based on these factors that Malaysia rejected the use of nuclear energy despite it being cheaper than fossil fuel.
Malaysia, he said, had a “bad experience” with amang, a type of irradiated ore once used to make colour televisions.
“Amang needs to be activated before it is used. This, however, led to problems in the form of residue, which is radioactive.
“The radiation effects triggered fear among the people. We don’t want a repeat of this. Eventually, we agreed to bury this substance in an area which was 1 sq km large.
“We had to bury it under thick cement to prevent the radiation from affecting people.”
He said Malaysia lost 1 sq km of land as the area was still not safe, which also led to losses in terms of areas meant for development.
Dr Mahathir also touched on developments in the transportation sector, and said the price of electric cars could be double that of conventional vehicles.
One of the issues in the electric car market, he said, was the durability of the batteries, which as of now, could only power the vehicle for a maximum of 200km on a full charge.
“We could perhaps merge ICE (internal combustion engine) and an electric-based engine to tackle the battery durability issue.
“These are all in the research and development phase, so I hope it will be successful, thus helping Malaysia enter a new automotive industry era,” he said.