Govt to set up EEV ecosystem swiftly to keep Malaysia competitive

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s newly implemented National EV Steering Committee is aimed to speed up the energy-efficient vehicle (EEV) ecosystem enablement to keep the country competitive with other regional peers, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said the future of Malaysia’s electric mobility and its benefits for consumers and the environment lies in collaborative partnerships across industries in an empowered ecosystem.

"The Cabinet has considered and agreed to improve the governance structure of the National EV Task Force by establishing the committee.

"We want to coordinate the understanding and direction of all stakeholders so that we can form a synergy of solid cooperation in making the national electric vehicle initiative a success based on the whole of government approach,” he told reporters after the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Green EV Charge Sdn Bhd and PLUS Malaysia Bhd here today.

Tengku Zafrul said the committee is led by his ministry and represented by various ministries, government agencies and relevant industry parties.

He said the committee will also be made up of members from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Local Government Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change.

"I look forward to working with all the ministers and also their officials at the highest management level. The main purpose is for us to resolve the issues pertaining to the implementation of the EEV ecosystem as soon as possible.

"So far, we have 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations and our target is to create at least 10,000 charging stations by 2025,” Tengku Zafrul said.

Earlier in his speech, the minister said positioning Malaysia as a pro-industry, pro-investment and pro-trade country, while also ensuring that small and medium enterprises and Malaysians’ interests are constantly safeguarded to nurture a more inclusive and broad-based economic growth, remained important for the ministry.

"For as long as I am the minister, you will have my assurance that the ministry will do its utmost to provide the appropriate policies and regulatory framework to achieve our national objectives,” he said.