KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) said it is looking to enhance the startup ecosystem, emerging technology, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education under Budget 2024.
Minister Chang Lih Kang said those are among the areas Mosti proposed to be included in the budget, but he did not reveal any specific details as it is still being finalised by the Finance Ministry.
“There are a few areas we want to strengthen, with the first being the startup ecosystem, we hope we could have more funding.
“…There are other areas such as emerging technology in which we hope can help our country develop cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technology. Another big focus area is STEM education, where we want to inculcate STEM education,” he said after officiating the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) Technology Conference and Exhibition here today.
Chang said he hopes the budget will include allocation to ensure the government’s target to have 1.5 million electric vehicles in the country by 2040 is feasible.
“It is still very low … our target is that by 2025 we can have 10,000 charging stations. Judging from the number of charging stations, you know the adoption levels are very low,” he said.
Budget 2024 is expected to be tabled in Parliament on October 13.
Regarding the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, he said the government is monitoring the situation closely and there have been no abnormalities in terms of radioactive levels in the nation’s waters.
He said the ministry will look into setting up a platform for the public to access the data to mitigate concerns about Japan’s decisions.
“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) data is open and on its website, but ours is not yet (ready). I need to discuss with the team first but we will be sharing it (data) with other Asean countries,” he said.
— Bernama
