Matta president Nigel Wong said public sector leadership would help build confidence and accelerate private sector adoption.

“If we want to remain competitive globally, we must align ourselves with international sustainability trends and ensure that our mobility systems reflect that direction,” he said in a statement today.

Wong said the shift towards electric mobility must be understood as systemic, going beyond transport policy alone, involving energy planning, financial mechanisms, infrastructure development, and tourism governance.

Business groups, including the SME Association of Malaysia and Federation of Malaysian Business Associations (FMBA), previously called for new incentives to ease the transition of businesses to green vehicles.

FMBA deputy secretary-general Sri Ganesh Michiel told FMT that the right incentives could encourage travel industry players to switch from diesel-powered vans and buses to EVs for ferrying tourists.