Malaysia’s energy reforms must continue to attract investment and drive innovation, but public interest must remain at the centre, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said.
He said reliability, affordability and fairness must remain key considerations as Malaysia works to build an energy system capable of supporting economic growth while keeping costs manageable for consumers.
“Energy reform must attract investment and enable innovation, but the public interest remains non-negotiable. Reliability, affordability and fairness must remain at the centre of every reform,” he said in his special address at Energy Regulatory Insights 2026 today.
He added that consumers must be protected from unnecessary costs and disruptions, while vulnerable households should not be left behind in the transition.
Energy Reform Tied To Economic Growth
Akmal said energy reform was no longer simply a sectoral or regulatory issue but had become central to economic policy.
Malaysia’s economy expanded 6.0% in the second quarter of 2026, while the country secured RM218.5 billion in approved investments during the first half of the year.
He said sectors such as advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, digital services, data centres and modern logistics would require reliable power, stronger grids and increasingly cleaner energy.
“Our priority is not simply to produce more energy. It is to build an energy system that is secure, affordable and sustainable, with the resilience and flexibility needed to support a higher-value economy,” he said.
More Renewables, But Grid Must Keep Up
Under the National Energy Transition Roadmap, Malaysia is targeting renewable energy to account for 70% of the power mix by 2050, up from 40% in 2035.
Akmal said the challenge now was turning that ambition into commercially viable projects while ensuring new renewable capacity could be connected to and supported by the national grid.
The LSS PETRA 5+ programme is expected to add almost 2 gigawatts of large-scale solar capacity, mobilise about RM6 billion in investment and create around 12,000 jobs as projects come onstream from 2027.
However, he stressed that adding renewable generation alone would not be enough.
“Let me put this plainly: the energy transition will not be won by megawatts alone. It will be won by whether the grid can connect, balance and deliver those megawatts reliably,” he said.
He identified three priorities for the next phase of reform: developing a competitive and progressive energy market, modernising the grid and treating energy efficiency as an energy resource.
Malaysia’s first National Energy Efficiency Action Plan delivered cumulative electricity savings of 60,886 gigawatt-hours between 2016 and 2025, equivalent to RM16.1 billion in savings.
Under NEEAP 2.0, Malaysia is targeting an 11.6% reduction in energy demand against the business-as-usual scenario by 2035.
Akmal said the transition should ultimately allow Malaysia to generate more economic value from every unit of energy consumed, rather than simply reducing consumption.
Regional Cooperation Remains Key
Akmal also highlighted regional cooperation through initiatives including the ASEAN Power Grid and Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline, which he said would be important in strengthening energy security and supporting renewable energy integration.
He said the next challenge was moving regional initiatives from plans and pilot projects towards commercially viable cross-border electricity trade.
For Malaysia, he said energy reform would need to translate policy into viable projects, investment into critical infrastructure and technology into solutions that deliver tangible benefits to the public.
“Success must be seen in reliability delivered, costs managed, productivity gained, emissions reduced and Malaysian capabilities built – not in megawatts announced alone,” he said.
