KUALA LUMPUR: The government has yet to designate any location in Sabah as a living laboratory for the Low-Altitude Economy, as a comprehensive assessment is still required.
The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said each state could be considered based on its needs, advantages and level of readiness, with Sabah among those having a strong foundation for consideration.
Potential applications in Sabah include drone logistics services to remote areas, particularly for delivering supplies, medicines and medical samples, as well as smart agriculture, critical infrastructure inspections, disaster management, and search and rescue operations, the ministry said.
MITI said the government, through the National Aerospace Industry Corporation (NAICO) Malaysia, was developing a Low-Altitude Economy Roadmap to establish the country’s readiness, ecosystem and phased implementation of the sector up to 2040.
This includes developing an ecosystem and implementation model, as well as identifying locations for living laboratories.
“Overall, the government is prepared to consider all states, including Sabah, for the development of the Low-Altitude Economy, with districts designated as living laboratories or regulatory sandboxes.
“At the same time, the government is examining appropriate forms of support and incentives to encourage local companies and technology players to participate in pilot projects,” the ministry said.
MITI was responding to Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar (BN-Kinabatangan) on the ministry’s readiness to designate at least one inland district in Sabah as a Low-Altitude Economy living laboratory under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), including providing incentives for local companies and technology players to conduct pilot projects.
In a separate development, MITI said the government is committed to developing a holistic and integrated rare earth elements (REE) ecosystem to maximise the economic value of local mineral resources, including strengthening midstream and downstream activities such as permanent magnet manufacturing, advanced materials, electronic components and batteries.
On the agreement between Lynas Rare Earths Ltd and the United States government, MITI said the company had informed the ministry that the agreement was a commercial arrangement handled directly by its subsidiary, Lynas LLC USA, to facilitate the finalisation of a materials supply agreement for the advanced manufacturing industry.
“Lynas also informed us that the supply of rare earth oxides was intended for research and development in the permanent magnet manufacturing industry,” the ministry said.
MITI said it was technically difficult to determine the direction of finished products or the end use of REE, particularly because of their diverse applications across industries.
“Furthermore, supply chains are fragmented, with products frequently changing hands between manufacturers and suppliers, and a distinction between buyers and end users.
“In conclusion, the integrated and systematic development of the country’s REE resources would create positive opportunities for Malaysia to advance in line with the aspirations of the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030),” the ministry said.
MITI was responding to Datuk Ahmad Amzad Mohamed @ Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu) on the government’s position regarding a four-year rare earth supply agreement between Lynas and the Pentagon, and its implications for the country’s strategic interests.