KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — Malaysia could have its own nuclear power plant by 2030 to address the high power consumption in the peninsula, the Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation (MNPC) said.

MNPC chief executive Mohd Zamzam Jaafar reportedly said that the peninsula currently generates power from coal (52 per cent), gas (45 per cent) and hydro (three per cent).

"We will only use nuclear power in Peninsular Malaysia because the demand is much higher at around 18,000 megawatt. Sarawak only uses 2,000 megawatt,” he was quoted as saying in The Borneo Post.

He said nuclear power was necessary in the country, explaining that it was clean and safe and countries like China and Japan have also adopted a similar approach.

Mohd Zamzam, who was speaking at a National Transformation 2050 (TN50) conference in Sarawak, reportedly said that MNPC will work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to evaluate setting up a plant here.

"This evaluation is in three phases. We are still in the first, which is where we make a decision. The second phase is to build and the third is to operate. But for now, we have not made a decision,” he was quoted as saying.