ECCJ held the FY2023 1st online meeting relating to EE&C capacity building with Malaysia

ECCJ held the FY2023 1st online meeting relating to EE&C capacity building with Malaysia

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Under the instruction and financial support of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE), the Energy Conservation Center, Japan (ECCJ) has been implementing a bilateral EE&C capacity building project with Malaysia which also continued in FY2023. On May 15, 2023, ECCJ held the first online meeting of FY2023 with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) and other Malaysian institutions. During the meeting, discussions were held and agreements reached regarding the plans for activities to be conducted in the current fiscal year including the dispatch of experts and training program in Japan.


1. Meeting attendees:

(1) Malaysian side: Dr. Ida Syahrina Shukor, Undersecretary, NRECC and two other representatives, Mr. Ishamuddin Wak, Senior Assistant Director, Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA), and Mr. Zulkiflee Umar, Deputy Director, Energy Commission (EC) and one other representative, making a total of six persons
(2) Japanese side: Five persons from the ECCJ International Cooperation Division

2. Overview of results: Regarding the activities planned for the current fiscal year, discussions were held and confirmation made regarding the following items.

(1) It has been arranged to hold the training program in Japan in September, however ECCJ is to receive an official response in early June. Following the training program held last year, requests were received concerning the possibility for trainees to receive more practical audit experiences. ECCJ therefore intends that the contents will <1> give trainees experience in measurement and audits through operating actual equipment together with practice in analyzing the collected data, <2> allow participants to gain prior learning through conducting two types of virtual audits of factories and buildings, followed by holding group discussions of both audits lasting one day each, and <3> introduce trainees to the latest energy conservation technologies and the energy management and audit methods utilized in Japan.

(2) Regarding the dispatch of experts relating to pilot project, ECCJ explained that the Malaysian side is to select the companies to be audited among the companies which participated in the online seminar held in November last year. Then, after confirming that implementation can be started, ECCJ will propose the specific basic plan draft and activity plans, which will be discussed on the Malaysian side. There are currently two candidate companies, however it will be confirmed by the end of May whether other candidates will be added, and the companies will be determined in June. After agreeing on the Project Plan in the Steering Committee formed from the three institutions comprising NRECC, SEDA and EC, it is planned that ECCJ will visit Malaysia during or after July.

(3) Regarding the establishment status of Malaysian energy conservation law, the Malaysian side gave the information that the period for submitting the draft law to the Malaysian parliament is planned for October 2023. In parallel, the draft for the thermal energy and auditor training programs are currently being prepared and proceeding according to the schedule. It is aimed to train 500 auditors in the first fiscal year following the enforcement of the law.
Additionally, a request was received for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to introduce on how the laws can be disseminated, what energy managers and energy auditors should do in the initial stages of the implementation, and what types of activities METI are implementing for companies to promote their understanding, following the enforcement of the Revised Energy Conservation Act in Japan.