Anthony Loke: Malaysia Needs Expertise From China To Grow EV Infrastructure

(Picture Credit: BERNAMA)

Chinese media Xianhua reported Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook’s interest in drawing in more Chinese companies into Malaysia to develop the country's electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure for faster acceptance of the general public in the electrified mode of transport.

He reportedly confessed that at the current moment, it is proving to be a major hurdle for Malaysia when it comes to the development of the supporting EV infrastructure hence the government welcomes any companies from China with the know-how and technology to take up this venture here.

He further added that the EV adoption is a major trend that will shape both public transport and personal mobility worldwide and Malaysia has to equip itself well to welcome this change.

"Our industrial policies are encouraging more EV-related industries to be relocated to Malaysia, especially on producing batteries in Malaysia. There are incentives in place to encourage more companies to relocate to Malaysia and I was made to understand that there are a lot of Chinese companies who are actually interested to invest in Malaysia in terms of putting their plants here and so on," he said.

Elaborating more on that, Loke said that all infrastructure set-up has to observe sustainability as the key factor with integration and interconnectivity being at its core. With that in place, it will help spur greater economic growth with the improvement of the transportation sector.

"We have many projects in the pipeline, but how do we connect it together and to make sure that it is a seamless connectivity on the network, and eventually, of course, whatever we do, infrastructure must bring economic development," he said.

"So, we must look at the transportation sector not just as transporting from point A to point B, but more as an economic multiplier effect. It must bring value to economic development. It must bring value to that particular region and area that you have that transportation network. So whatever transportation project that we do, we must look at the economic side of it," he added.