KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Malaysia continues to explore nuclear energy as part of its long-term sustainability strategy, despite nuclear projects ranking among the megaprojects with the highest cost overruns, second only to hosting the Olympic Games.
Energy Commission chief executive officer Siti Safinah Salleh said despite the complexity of nuclear power and the huge risks involved in the early stages of development, Malaysia remains open to exploring the technology as a potential component of its future energy mix.
Pursuing nuclear power would require Malaysia to address the 19 infrastructure issues outlined under the International Atomic Energy Agency's Milestones Approach, with each issue subject to specific requirements and independent assessments before the country can progress to the next stage of development.
“It is not self-ticking; there is actually an inspector who comes and checks it for you. A lot of effort has to be put in before we are ready to pass the first milestone and move on to the next milestone.
“Should we do it? Why would we say no if we have the option to do it? I think that is how we need to think about it in the context of the long-term sustainability of our system,” she said during the plenary session titled 'Financing a Resilient Energy Future' at the two-day Bank Negara Malaysia Sasana Symposium 2026 (SS2026) today.
During the session, Citibank Asia-Pacific sustainability head Crispian Cuss emphasised that a nuclear power project is highly complex, with a typical development and construction period of 10 to 15 years before it becomes operational.
“Sometimes, nuclear (energy) is seen as the silver bullet, as it is going to solve all our problems and provide a really viable low-carbon, zero-carbon source of electricity.
“Globally, it produces about 10 per cent of the world's electricity, which would otherwise be produced by burning coal and gas,” he said.
However, Cuss cautioned against underestimating the complexity of nuclear power projects.
Citing the book titled How Big Things Get Done, he said the only project that is subject to more cost overruns than nuclear power is hosting the Olympic Games.
“We as a bank, we finance nuclear (projects), and I just advise people never to underestimate its complexity,” Cuss said.
Foreign media reported that France had budgeted about US$10 billion (RM40.90 billion) to host the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, while Los Angeles is estimated to spend around US$7.15 billion (RM29.24 billion) to host the 2028 Games.
Themed 'Reforms for Resilience: Navigating Uncertainties', SS2026, held from yesterday until today, featured discussions on key economic and financial issues, including economic resilience, wages, cost of living challenges, investments, energy security, Islamic finance, and private healthcare costs.
