Gary Theseira, director of Climate Governance Malaysia, pointed out that Indonesia and the Philippines have already expressed intentions to venture into nuclear power generation despite their location in regions with significant geo-tectonic instability and elevated risk of earthquakes and tsunamis.
He said locating nuclear power plants in less tectonically active parts of Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, would be a more logical approach.
However, the introduction of nuclear power in Malaysia is still a controversial issue. While some have touted its advantages, others have warned against the risks it poses.
Even the government is leaning towards continued use of fossil fuels for now.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia is not in “pressing need” to adopt nuclear power as the nation still sees much potential in solar power and the Asean Power Grid.
However, he did not dismiss the possibility of exploring the adoption of nuclear energy, especially with Malaysia’s massive data centres in the pipeline.
Theseira acknowledged that while nuclear power is efficient and suitable for industrial use, it faces challenges such as high costs, safety concerns, and waste management.
“Nonetheless, the risks are justified when weighed against the human and environmental costs of the wide usage of fossil fuels,” he said.
“The reality is that under standard operating parameters, generally regarded as acceptable, the use of conventional fossil fuels results in far greater fatalities than the use of nuclear energy from both accidents and pollution,” he added.
He proposed that the government works with its Filipino and Indonesian counterparts to develop nuclear plants in Malaysia. The energy generated can then be shared with earthquake and tsunami-prone countries, he told FMT.
‘Risky and unnecessary’
A fervent opponent to nuclear energy is Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman. She emphasised that opting for nuclear energy is not only risky but also unnecessary given the availability of other options such as solar power.
She likened the use of nuclear power to address carbon emissions to swatting a fly with a hand grenade. “The amount of carbon emissions that we are contributing globally is only 0.8%,” she pointed out to FMT.
Meenakshi also highlighted Malaysia’s weak risk mitigation systems, warning that pursuing high-risk technologies like nuclear energy could backfire, as existing shortcomings may eventually undermine safe nuclear management.
“We are not known for the rigor given the kinds of examples that we have had — from the Sungai Kim Kim pollution, the radioactive poisoning incident in Bukit Merah and the Petronas gas pipeline explosion.
“There’s a litany of disasters stemming from poor management and poor controls,” she added.
Sustainability and climate change specialist Renard Siew said that while risk mitigation challenges are valid concerns, the real issue is not capability, but the willingness to invest in building proper safeguards, governance structures, and public trust.
“For example, in the aviation sector, public safety is paramount; a single failure can have catastrophic consequences.
“Like nuclear, aviation combines high risk with low tolerance for error, with public trust in aviation having been earned over time through transparency, consistent enforcement, and continuous improvement,” he said.
Nuclear power to support data centre surge
Sherrifah Noor Khamseah Syed Ahmad Idid, a nuclear innovation advocate, emphasised the pressing need to study and establish nuclear energy in Malaysia, given the surge in data centre investments.
She noted that tech giants Amazon Web Services ( AWS) , Microsoft, and Google, which have made significant commitments to launch projects in Malaysia, are already turning to nuclear energy to power their data centres in other countries.
“These companies’ preference for clean energy — particularly nuclear — signals an opportunity for Malaysia to integrate nuclear power into its energy mix,” she said, adding this could help Malaysia achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement.