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(Paper Presented At The Energy Justice  Conference At Boulder,  Colorado, USA On 24th And 25th October 2009)

According to the 2007 UNDP report entitled Energy and Poverty in Malaysia – Challenges and the Way Forward” (the UNDP report), more than a billion people in the Asia-Pacific region do not have access to electricity and 1.7 billion are dependent on traditional biomass fuels for domestic use.  The report acknowledges the “strong link” between access to affordable and sustainable sources of energy, with poverty.

Some salient facts about Malaysia  as averted to in the report are helpful.  Malaysia covers a total area of 329,758 square kilometers.  It comprises Peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak are separated from the Peninsular by the South China Sea.  Although Sabah and Sarawak make up for 60% of the total land area, they contain only 20% of the country’s population.

Our natural resources are plentiful.  We have rubber, palm oil, petroleum and natural gas.  We have moved from an agricultural to an industrailised  economy and we have  sustained economic growth.  By this report, Malaysia has fared well in its efforts to eradicate poverty.
The UNDP report makes the following findings which are relevant :-
Malaysia is ranked among the most developed and industrialized countries in the Asia Pacific region.
 
There has seen a significant poverty reduction over the past few decades.
 
(3) The country has extensive electricity coverage including in rural areas. 
(4) However, remote areas of East Malaysia still suffer a lack of cleaner sources of energy for heating and cooking.

Fuelwood and kerosene are relied on in these remote areas for cooking, thus posing an enormous challenge to poverty reductions.
 
The report draws these relevant conclusions in relation to the rural communities and gender issues namely :-

Gender disaggregated data on female income and employment (in terms of energy) are not methodically collected.  The impact of electricity and renewable energy on women below the poverty line in rural Malaysia is yet to be evaluated and addressed.
 
Poverty among women is a major concern and has caught the attention of the policy makers.  Several non-profit organizations and banks have provided assistance to women in the lower income group.  For example, cook stoves were provided to women in fish and agro processing enterprises.  However there is a lack of monitoring of the impact of these programmes on rural women.
 
There is a need to recognize and emphasize the involvement of local communities particularly in the rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak in adopting renewable energy sources.
 
Renewable energy particularly in Sabah and Sarawak must be encouraged and promoted.

It would seem that compared to some of its neighbours, Malaysia has received a fairly positive report from the UNDP in relation to the providing of energy and the eradication of poverty.