Malaysia will carry out biomass projects using waste from the oil palm industry to produce electric power, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said the feedstock from oil palm waste would be also used to produce other products such as sugar and even vaccines.
Technology companies from the United States, with the capacity to invest and produce products from oil palm biomass, will be matched with Malaysian companies to garner profits for the country which is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, Najib said following the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) for Malaysia inaugural meeting which he chaired at the New York Academy of Sciences here Wednesday.
The prime minister said the move was among several measures drawn up at the meeting.
“We came up with three formulations which can be carried out in quick win,” he told Malaysian journalists at the end of his first day of visit here.
GSIAC is a joint initiative between the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technologies (MIGHT) and the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) towards efforts to transform Malaysia into a high income economy by increasing its capacity in science and innovation.
The 194-year old academy has 25,000 members in 140 countries including Nobel prize winners and heads of companies.
Najib said the second proposal was for the study of Smart City and Smart Village models with the cooperation of the academy which would look at finding the suitable technologies that would reduce carbon footprint and build more cost effective homes and buildings.
Suggestion was also made at the meeting — attended by 35 members including leading scientists and innovators from the US and other countries — for collaboration to be undertaken as fast as possible between the institutions of higher education in Malaysia and specific parties in the US for the development of human capital.
Najib said Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid, the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, will be the coordinator between the academy and the Malaysian government for the follow up measures to be taken for the suggestions made.
It is important for Malaysia to gain from the deep and vast experiences of the members who are of world class, Najib said.
