MARANG, July 10 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged research institutions to cooperate with universities and the private sector to explore and develop new fields that the people can benefit from.
Anwar said this is as Malaysia is far behind in research compared with countries like Brazil, India, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which are ahead in high-value fields.
He cited as an example Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Abu Dhabi, which focuses on AI technology.
“We will expedite the implementation of the AI faculty at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and its network with all universities that have AI.
“This is an example of how there should be efforts to expedite the exploration of new fields,” he said when speaking at the Cypark Hybrid Solar Power Plant launch at Cypark Solar Merchang here today.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
The Merchang Hybrid Solar Power Plant is the largest hybrid solar power plant in Malaysia, comprising 35MW of floating solar panels and 65MW of land panels.
The project implemented by Cypark Resources Bhd (Cypark) was developed in accordance with the natural environment of Terengganu, which is flood prone.
Anwar said the local research field must ensure Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students are trained in new fields like solar energy.
“If there is a TVET (institution) in Merchang or Marang or nearby, I recommend that there should be expertise from Cypark to help train TVET (workers) in Merchang (or the surrounding area).
“That’s the decision that will be implemented during these two weeks, which is to see what training institutions are available, and if possible, we decide on an engineer or expert in the field of solar energy, and Cypark (comes) every two weeks or once a week or teach a class. The (students) trained will be guaranteed to continue working with Cypark,” he said.
He said iCypark has been instructed to submit a report on its plans to ensure Terengganu youth receive special training in the field of renewable energy.
He said the report must be submitted to Fadillah within two weeks.
The Prime Minister also praised Cypark’s efforts in advancing the local renewable energy industry, especially solar energy.
— Bernama
