Energy transition and water transformation minister Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia could still obtain or purchase nuclear reactors, fuel rods, or other nuclear materials from other countries if their offers were better than the US, in terms of both technical and commercial value.
“The government would like to stress that the sovereignty of Malaysia’s energy and nuclear policies remains intact,” said Fadillah in a written parliamentary reply.
“Malaysia remains free to assess and choose the best partners with any nuclear tech-supplying nations, including Russia, China, France and South Korea, based on technological capabilities, costs, safety levels, technology transfer and adherence to international standards.”
Fadillah was responding to Azli Yusof (PH-Shah Alam), who asked if the agreement, better known as ART, would impact Malaysia’s nuclear policy in the context of cooperation with Russia, China, France and South Korea.
Article 5.3 stipulates that Malaysia cannot obtain nuclear items such as nuclear reactors, fuel rods, or enriched uranium “from certain countries”, Azli said.
Fadillah, who is also a deputy prime minister, said Article 5.3 should be read in its entirety.
He said while the first sentence (of the clause) seems to limit Malaysia’s ability to obtain reactors and nuclear materials from “certain countries”, the last sentence of that clause allows Malaysia to decide on procurement based on commercial, technical, and security considerations, in line with national interests.
“Therefore, this article does not spell out any obstacles for Malaysia to establish ties and cooperation with technology-supplying countries in various aspects related to nuclear energy, including training, research, capacity building, nuclear safety, radiation and other things.”
In November, Fadillah said Malaysia would have access to technology and power plant designs from other countries by signing a civil nuclear trade pact with the US.
He also said that Malaysia is currently looking into the need to sign a Civil Nuclear Agreement, dubbed the “123 Agreement”, which sets conditions for countries importing American nuclear technology including providing assurances that it would be used only for peaceful purposes.
In July, Malaysia and the US signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic civil nuclear cooperation, a move foreign minister Mohamad Hasan described as a “significant milestone” in advancing energy security and sustainable development.