Malaysia, Singapore sign cooperation agreements for EV charging standards



Malaysia and Singapore have inked three new agreements yesterday, including two for the cooperation in the digital economy and green economy. The agreements were signed between Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, during an official visit led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The green economy partnership agreement marks the first of its kind for Malaysia, and is expected to strengthen collaboration to decarbonise both countries’ industries, and help businesses and workers seize more opportunities in the green economy, The Straits Times reports.

Image: Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook

Elements of the cooperation will include setting of standards and deployment of charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as exploring joint projects in low-carbon solutions, particularly hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage.

Both governments will also exchange information on carbon markets, explore collaboration opportunities in carbon credits projects, and the development of other new and renewable energy-related technology standards to support domestic and regional decarbonisation.

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Image: Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook

Currently, there are no set standards in Malaysia when it comes to EV charging. However, aside from some of the earlier models, most carmakers here have opted for a Type 2 (and CCS for DC) connection for their vehicles. And as a result, most charging stations in Malaysia are also equipped with the Type 2 charging cables.

With a set of rules in place, EV carmakers who intend to bring their vehicles into Malaysia will likely have to abide by the standard established by the government in order to pass a Vehicle Type Approval (VTA). This will certainly result in lesser confusion for the end users, however several importers who are bringing in Tesla cars from other countries might be affected by the new code.

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Image: Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook

As for digital economy, the agreement will see cooperation between the two countries in areas such trade facilitation, cross-border data flows, and electronic payments. The parties also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the cooperation on issues such as personal data protection and cybersecurity.

In a Facebook post, PM Anwar Ibrahim said, “Although our cooperation has achieved a lot of success in the past few decades, I believe that there is still great potential to improve the relationship between the two countries to a higher level for the benefit of the people.”

The visiting delegation also included Minister of Transport Anthony Loke, Minister of Foreign Affairs Zambry Abdul Kadir, Ministry of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil, Premier of Sarawak Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari, as well as the Menteri Besar of Johor Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim added that the agenda discussed during the meeting will continue to be refined by relevant agencies and ministries of the two countries in the coming months.