SAREF 4.0 shines spotlight on Sarawak’s role in powering regional collaboration
- BT
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
KUCHING, 3 September 2025: The 4th Sustainability and Renewable Energy Forum (SAREF 4.0) officially kicked off today at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), bringing together global and regional leaders, industry leaders, sustainability experts and policymakers for 2 days of purposeful and insightful dialogues on renewable energy and actionable solutions for a more sustainable energy future for Southeast Asia.
Powered by Sarawak Energy, this biennial conference is co-hosted with the Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication and the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Sarawak, and is part of the official programme for Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, highlighting Sarawak’s key role in regional cooperation.
This year’s theme is ‘Partnerships for Our Goals: Sustainable Growth and Prosperity for the Region’, which reflects the need for trust and cooperation across borders for a fair and just energy transition. Over 1,000 participants from the ASEAN region and other countries are part of SAREF 4.0, which also features the ASEAN High-Level Roundtable on ASEAN Power Grid, the Adopt-a-Tree programme for biodiversity and habitat restoration, the Youth Pavilion and the Asian Youth Energy Awards as well as a post forum tour to the Batang Ai Hydroelectric plant.
“Since its inception in 2019, SAREF has provided a valuable platform for sharing ideas and exploring solutions for Southeast Asia’s energy future. It supports the vision of the Sarawak Government under the leadership of the Premier. This includes Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, the Sarawak Sustainability Blueprint 2030 and the Sarawak Energy Transition Policy,” shared Sarawak Deputy Minister of Utility and Sarawak Energy Chairman, Dato Haji Ibrahim bin Haji Baki during his welcoming speech.
“Our commitment to fully electrify Sarawak is closely aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, which calls for universal access to modern energy services. Despite key challenges such as low accessibility and complex geographical conditions, 99% of our rural communities has access to 24 hours of reliable electricity – contributing to statewide coverage of 99.6% as of December 2024,” added Sarawak Minister for Utility and Telecommunication, Dato Sri Haji Julaihi bin Haji Narawi in his speech.
During today’s launching, the Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg shared valuable insights on renewable energy, regional interconnections and Sarawak’s role in advancing shared prosperity through the Borneo Grid.
“We are currently implementing a pilot project to export hydrogen in solid form to Singapore, as we have started production with a small-scale plant. To further advance our renewable energy technology, we are closely working with Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom to explore nature-based solutions. Thanks to Sarawak’s strategic location and carbon negative status, we are looking to play a central role in the future ASEAN power grid,” said the Premier during a dialogue session with CNN Anchor and Correspondent, Kristie Lu Stout.
Today’s launching also saw the signing of 2 MoUs, one between Sarawak and the Brunei government on energy cooperation and the other between Sarawak Energy and the Asian Development Bank on enhancing regional electricity connectivity. Meanwhile, the Silver Certification under the Hydropower Sustainability Standard was also presented to Sarawak Energy’s Bakun Hydroelectric Plant, making it the largest hydropower plant in Southeast Asia to receive the globally recognised accreditation.
Also present during today’s launching, Deputy Premiers, Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Datuk Amar Prof. Dr. Sim Kui Hian, Sarawak Legislative State Assembly Speaker, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia bin Awang Nassar, Senior Minister in Charge of Special Mission on Cambodian Islamic Affairs, Oknha Datuk Dr. Othsman Hassan, Acting Sarawak State Secretary, Dato Sri Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ajay Sharma CMG, Deputy Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam, Dato Seri Awang Mohamad Azmi Mohd Hanifah, Sarawak Energy Group CEO and SAREF 4.0 Chairman, Datuk Sharbini Suhaili and other distinguished guests.
