<b>Spotlight:</b> The lost years

THE idea was mooted in Malaysia as far back as 40 years ago, when the price of oil was still US$1.80 per barrel. That year, when reports from the World Energy Conference projected that the world was to face a serious shortage of industrial fuel oil as demand began to outgrow supply, the nuclear notion caught the attention of the National Electricity Board (NEB), now known as TNB.

A series of talks were held between the nation's energy utility corporation and the government over the years.

Even until today, as our neighbours propose to erect their second or third plant, and as the price of oil shoots up to US$ 139 per barrel, Malaysia is still "writing a proposal paper".

Indonesia will have four 1,000 Megawatt-electric plants operational by 2016, Vietnam two by 2018, and Thailand two by 2021.

So what's taking us so long?

"To be honest, we've wasted more than 20 years," says associate professor Dr Muhamad Samudi Yasir.

"I don't know whether it's fortunate or unfortunate, maybe it is fortunate, because we dapat minyak. We found out that we had a lot of oil, so the nuclear policy was abandoned."

The nuclear base was actually laid back in 1972 with the setting up of the Nuclear Energy Unit in the Prime Minister's Department.

This was followed by the inception of the Tun Ismail Atomic Research Centre (Puspati -- now the Malaysian Nuclear Agency) and the Nuclear Division at NEB/TNB in 1973.

Many staff were sent overseas for training, and many came back armed with masters and PhDs, some in nuclear engineering.

The country's first nuclear reactor was procured from the United States and became operational in June 1982.

However, it was only a 1 Megawatt-thermal nuclear research reactor and it was used to support research and development in various non-power applications of nuclear technology, and is not capable of generating electricity.

A. Ramanath, then deputy general manager (Planning and Construction Division), came up with the idea to set up a nuclear division in NEB. His argument on the rising cost of fuel, depleting world petroleum reserves, and the country's overwhelming reliance on fuel as its prime energy source, led to the conclusion that nuclear option should be considered.

According to the book Power Builds The Nation by Muzaffar Tate, NEB/TNB even went as far as to identify 11 sites for the l first nuclear plant in the country.

Members of the world's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Division and Planning Division, showed great interest in their work and inspected the sites. Two were found to be most suitable.

However, by 1980, plans to go nuclear took a back seat upon the discovery of oil and natural gas fields off Terengganu and Sarawak.

NEB's nuclear division was dissolved that year.

Puspati's shifted its focus from nuclear to radiation technology, leading Malaysia to becoming among the best in the radiation field today.

Nuclear research, on the other hand, was done on a smaller scale.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the first Malaysian u niversity to offer nuclear studies, also modified its syllabus in accordance with the country's stance by focusing on radiation instead of nuclear technology.

"There was no point producing nuclear graduates if there was no demand," says Samudi, who has been lecturing for 20 years.

"Many feel that Malaysia would have gained a steady lead should the nuclear development programme had continued.

"Now, most of the sites have been developed and are heavily populated. West Malaysia may not be able to offer a suitable site which can meet the requirements of the IAEA Safety Division for the installation of the nuclear station," says Ramanath who is now 87.

"With continued study of all aspects related to the nuclear field, there would have been a general improvement in the standards of engineering among the TNB engineers."

There would also have been a need for the steel and cement industries to upgrade their standards of manufacturing to service the nuclear industry.

"The benefits which accrued resulting from these (nuclear) studies have been lost.

If TNB were to reactivate the Nuclear Division, it would take them perhaps another decade or so for the engineers with good power station experience to gain the knowledge and experience acquired by the division staff during the 1970s."

Spotlight: The lost years