JAKARTA (Bernama): Malaysia has held discussions with Indonesia regarding the issue of coal supply, following the decision by the world’s largest thermal coal supplier to reduce production this year.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the matter was among those raised during separate meetings with Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, and the President’s Special Envoy for Energy and Climate, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, held on Wednesday.
"Currently, Indonesia is supplying coal to TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad). So we want to get clarity on the changes taking place in terms of policy as well as strategy in Indonesia.”
"We hope this will not affect coal supplies to Malaysia,” he told Bernama after being invited as a panellist for a dialogue session at the Asean Climate Forum here.
Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, is currently on a three-day visit to Jakarta, which began yesterday, to strengthen strategic collaboration in the energy sector between the two countries.
Bahlil was previously reported to have announced that the Indonesian government will reduce coal production this year to around 600 million tonnes, a 24 per cent decrease from last year’s output of 790 million tonnes.
He said the reduction in production is aimed at driving coal prices back up, as well as ensuring the sustainability and reserves of the country’s coal in the future.
Meanwhile, Fadillah said that during the meetings with the two Indonesian leaders, discussions also covered the Asean Power Grid, the undersea cable linking Sarawak and Johor, and the extension of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia on energy sector cooperation.
"Alhamdulillah, I would like to thank Bahlil and Hashim for understanding and being ready to support what we discussed earlier,” he said.
Regarding energy supply to Indonesia, Fadillah said Malaysia is ready to "move together” if there is a request from the neighbouring country.
"This was also one of the matters we discussed earlier," he said, adding that Sarawak currently supplies 100 megawatt of electricity to West Kalimantan. -- Bernama
