Save Sandakan

Najib: "Coal is what we call DIRTY technology, it's NOT environmentally friendly"

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/41958-pm-says-country-over-dependent-on-ipps

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak admitted today that the government needs to revise its energy policy, calling the current one obsolete and in need of a revamp.

In his keynote address at electricity utility TNB’s 60th anniversary celebration here, he said the current policy was proven to be costly, both environmentally and financially.

Heavy dependence on independent power producers (IPPs) and costly natural resources like natural gas have taken its toll on the government financially while cheaper options like coal is damaging to the environment, said the prime minister.

“I don’t like the current energy policy. It’s not right,” he told some 1,500 TNB workers attending the event.

“We are overly dependent on the IPPs and expensive resources like natural gas to produce energy and coal is what we call DIRTY technology, it’s NOT environmentally friendly,” he added.

Relations between IPPs and the government have not been good in recent years.

Many leaders from both sides of the political spectrum are calling for the government to be firm with the IPPs which they claimed have been stepping on its toes by providing energy at high prices.

While Najib today said the government should stop depending on the IPPs, he did not mention how the government planned to do so.

Later at a press conference, Najib said the government had begun embarking on a new energy policy that he claims would be focusing more on cost-effective resources.

As revealed in Najib’s maiden Budget recently, the prime minister told the media that his administration had started studying sectors like renewable energy and green technology to replace the current policy.

“It’s not a short-term solution, it’s a long one but we need to make the first step,” he said.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Related posts:

1. PM Najib: Sabah Should Accept Dirty Coal In October 2009 in KL, the Prime Minister said...
2. PM – Act Decisively, CANCEL the Coal Power Plant! A Green Malaysia for the Future Nov 21, 2009...
3. Green Surf – Five NGOs gang up to oppose ‘dirty energy’ sources It’s official – the Anti-Coal Movement has just gone State-wide!...
4. PM may have been misquoted on coal plant: Body SANDAKAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak could have...
5. PM:Coal Plant to be in Felda Sahabat,Lahad Datu. The Government has given the green light for the controversial...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.