NUCLEAR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF POWER FOR MALAYSIA, SAYS EXPERT

By Newmond Tibin

KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), July 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia needs to look
closely into the possibility of developing a competitive and stable source of
power for long-term use, a chemical engineering expert, Dr Rosalam Sarbatly said
Wednesday.

Rosalam is an associate professor and the Dean of Universiti Malaysia Sabah
School of Engineering and Information Technology.

According to his research entitled "Nuclear As A Potential Source of Power",
nuclear power was an option for energy as it could provide highly reliable,
competitive, stable and environment-friendly power supply.

"A stable nuclear power supply which is not influenced by the market, is
easy to get, the cost for operating the nuclear plant is stable and it is
expected to be capable of offering a much lower electricity tariff.

"When a competitive and stable source of power is in place, inadvertently,
it will boost the growth of industry and provide more job opportunities," he
told Bernama here Wednesday.


However, Rosalam said a detailed study should be carried out pertaining to
issues on national and international policies, risks, environmental impact
assessment, economic, and social and human capital development as well as a
suitable location.

He said the study should focus on the best interest and wellbeing of the
people.

In order to ensure a more competitive and stable power supply, the
electrical grid system and the development and operation cost of the nuclear
plant should also be considered.

"The main challenges in developing the grid system are the vast coverage
area, mountainous terrain and different local requirements," he said.

Rosalam said the development of a decentralised power system using natural
resources like wind, waves, geothermal, hydro, biomass and solar could be
applied in remote areas, while high-populated areas which had high demand of
power supply should be connected by a high-capacity electricity grid system.

"Malaysia's political stability and the world's nuclear technology
maturity
have opened the door for the country to develop and adopt the technology to
achieve the status of a developed nation by 2020," he said.

Rosalam said current observation found that "although some groups supported
the idea, many still blame the nuclear technology for the bombing of Nagasaki
and Hiroshima by the United States on Aug 9, 1945 and the nuclear explosions in
Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine in 1986.

"Unlike most technology, nuclear technology will not easily change over time
as there are certain standards that should be adhered to.

"The construction and operation of a nuclear plant are strictly governed by
local and international authority such as the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA)," he said.

With strict monitoring, tight regulations and standards, and lessons learnt
from past experiences, he said the mistakes which caused the nuclear explosion
tragedy could be avoided.

Among the countries with vast nuclear power reserves are Khazakhstan,
Australia and South Africa.

-- BERNAMA



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