IPOH: The Health Ministry has assured that the use of 5G technology is not detrimental to health.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said exposure to 5G electromagnetic radiation from the use of mobile phones was low and does not cause adverse health effects.
“5G technology, mobile phones and sunlight all have electromagnetic waves. (And) the electromagnetic waves of 5G is much lower when we use mobile phones, hence the exposure is not high,” he told reporters after attending the Botani Village Commercial Centre groundbreaking ceremony at Bandar Seri Botani here.
Present was Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Dr Lee said his ministry would nontheless continue to monitor the use of the technology.
“We are adopting the guidelines used by large stations that emit electromagnetic waves, along with our cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international agencies to monitor and collect relevant data.
“We will look into all the scientific evidence available, but we believe that mobile 5G technology is safe." he said.
Dr Lee was commenting on claims by netizens that the use of 5G could endanger one’s health, subsequently sparking concern over the use of the technology.
Meanwhile, tech experts have dismissed the claims as baseless.
University Teknologi Malaysia Faculty of Engineering senior lecturer Prof Dr Tharek Abdul Rahman told Bernama that technology-applied radio frequencies does not produce harmful radiation.
“People need to understand that there are two types of radiation - ionising and non-ionising. It is the ionising type such as x-ray and radioactivity that can cause cancer.
“5G non-ionising radiation will only cause heating which is insufficient to cause long-term impact on body tissues,” he said.
Tharek said radiation generated by 5G technology also encompasses energy 1,000 times lesser in strength compared to solar energy.
“According to a WHO report, over 25,000 research articles published over the past 30 years showed that exposure to low-frequency radio or non-ionising rays had no negative impact on human health,” he said.
Faculty of Technology and Information Science senior lecturer from Universiti Malaysia Malaysia Prof Dr Abdullah Mohd Zin said there was no evidence to link 5G to health risks.
“The claims by netizens are baseless,” he said.
Malaysia Public Health Experts Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar suggested that more campaigns need to be conducted to raise awareness among the public about the functions and implications of 5G.
“5G emits electromagnetic radiation that is very similar to other existing technologies.
“I hope the government will create programmes to raise awareness and provide up-to-date research information from around the world on the impact of 5G on human health,” he said.
5G commercialisation is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year and will not only redefine connectivity in the country but also contribute positively to the economy, paving way for Malaysia to be one of the 5G pioneers in the Asean region.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to launch a demonstration project on the technology in Langkawi on tomorrow.