Speaking to reporters after the soft launch of a species action plan here, she said the prime minister had mentioned the issue to Chief Minister Shafie Apdal.

“However, it is still at the discussion stage,” she said. “Nothing has been implemented yet.”

Liew, who also holds the tourism, culture and environment portfolio, declined to comment further on whether such plans would sit well with the people of Sabah, especially environmentalists.

On Tuesday, Mahathir was reported as saying he was considering reducing Malaysia’s reliance on imported coal by exploiting domestic coal reserves in Sabah and Sarawak.

He said this would be better than using nuclear energy given the difficulties surrounding nuclear waste disposal.

Most of Malaysia’s coal reserves are in Sarawak although Sabah has rich reserves in the Meliau and Melibu forest basins as well.

The previous government had planned to open a new coal-fired plant in the east coast of Sabah. However, it ultimately bowed to pressure from environmentalists who objected to the scheme.

The government was accused of wanting to exploit the high-grade coal found in the Meliau basin for export overseas while the plant would be fed with low-grade coal from other countries.

WWF-Malaysia has denounced any plans for coal mining, urging the government to consider renewable energy and energy-efficient options instead.

It said any measures to address Sabah’s electricity woes should not come at the expense of the environment.