‘Govt only conducts general studies on nuclear power’

KUALA LUMPUR: The government only conducted general studies on nuclear power construction in the country and no field work has been done up so far.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mah Siew Keong said the general studies used computers and various types of digital maps and were conducted by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

“The outcome of these studies is in general and not specific to locations because any information on the structure of the earth can only be obtained through field research or field work,” he said in a written reply to Charles Anthony Santiago ( DAP- Klang) at the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

Santiago wanted to know if it was true that Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation ( MNPC) had identified several locations for nuclear power plants that would be built in Malaysia and why such an important project was given to a private company.

Mah said the general studies was done by TNB in 2009 and 2010 before MNPC was established in January 2011. He said if field work was implemented in future, feedback of local communities around the site would be obtained under the rules and guidelines of existing regulations.

However, he said the locations for the nuclear power construction site studies had yet to be identified.

On the role of MNPC, the Teluk Intan Member of Parliament

The outcome of these studies is in general and not specific to locations because any information on the structure of the earth can only be obtained through field research or field work. Datuk Mah Siew Keong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department

said it was a company limited by guarantee without share capital under the administration of the Prime Minister’s Department.

He said MNPC functions as a nuclear power programme implementation organisation in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines for any nations that examined the use of nuclear energy. — Bernama