Siena:The government has yet to designate any specific 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) emphasized that each state could be considered based on its needs, advantages, and level of readiness, with Sabah being one of the strong contenders for consideration.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, potential applications in Sabah include drone logistics services to remote areas, especially for delivering supplies, medicines, and medical samples. Other applications involve smart agriculture, critical infrastructure inspections, disaster management, and search and rescue operations.
The government, through the National Aerospace Industry Corporation (NAICO) Malaysia, is developing a Low-Altitude Economy Roadmap to establish the country's readiness, ecosystem, and phased implementation plan for the sector through 2040. This initiative includes developing an ecosystem and implementation model, as well as identifying locations for living laboratories.
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. Concurrently, the government is exploring suitable support and incentives to encourage local companies and technology players to participate in pilot projects, as mentioned by MITI.
MITI's response was directed towards Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar (BN-Kinabatangan) concerning the ministry's preparedness to designate at least one inland district in Sabah as a Low-Altitude Economy living laboratory under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which includes providing incentives for local companies and technology players to conduct pilot projects.
In a related development, MITI declared the government's commitment to developing a holistic and integrated rare earth elements (REE) ecosystem to maximize the economic value of local mineral resources. This includes enhancing midstream and downstream activities such as permanent magnet manufacturing, advanced materials, electronic components, and batteries.
Regarding an agreement between Lynas Rare Earths Ltd and the United States government, MITI highlighted that Lynas informed the ministry about a commercial arrangement managed by its subsidiary, Lynas LLC USA, to finalize a materials supply agreement for the advanced manufacturing industry. Lynas also indicated that the supply of rare earth oxides was intended for research and development in the permanent magnet manufacturing sector.
MITI elaborated on the complexities of determining the direction of finished products or the end use of REE due to their diverse applications across industries and the fragmented nature of supply chains. Products often change hands between manufacturers and suppliers, creating a distinction between buyers and end users.
In conclusion, the integrated and systematic development of the country's REE resources is expected to create positive opportunities for Malaysia to advance in line with the aspirations of the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030), as stated by the ministry. MITI was responding to Datuk Ahmad Amzad Mohamed @ Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu) on the government's stance regarding a four-year rare earth supply agreement between Lynas and the Pentagon, and its implications for the country's strategic interests.