MGA Calls for Delivery, Investment, and Practical Regional Cooperation to Strengthen Energy Security

KUALA LUMPUR, 3 September 2026 – Malaysia must move decisively from energy policy direction to practical delivery, supported by continued investment and stronger regional cooperation to ensure the country’s future energy needs remain secure, affordable, and sustainable, said the Malaysian Gas Association (MGA).

Speaking at the EIC Connect OGA 2026 plenary session, “The Future is Here – Going Beyond Borders”, MGA President Abang Yusuf Abang Puteh joined YB Tuan Haji Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, Minister of Economy; Siti Hurrairah Sulaiman, Country Chair & Senior Vice President Upstream, Shell Malaysia; and YBhg. Dato’ Dr Kenneth Gerard Pareira, Managing Director, Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad. The session was moderated by Ts. Syed Saggaf Syed Ahmad, Regional Director Asia Pacific, Energy Industries Council.

Abang Yusuf said Malaysia has established a clear energy-transition direction through the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), with the focus now shifting towards effective implementation. Under the NETR pathway, natural gas continues to grow in absolute terms, from 41 Mtoe in 2023 to 57 Mtoe by 2050, reinforcing its important role in supporting Malaysia’s future energy system.

“The direction is clear. What matters now is our ability to deliver. Energy security requires supply, infrastructure, market conditions, and investment to move together. No single part of the ecosystem can deliver the outcome on its own,” said Abang Yusuf.

As Malaysia’s domestic gas resources mature and reliance on imported gas and LNG increases, MGA believes energy security must be approached as an integrated system. This requires sufficient, reliable and flexible infrastructure across the entire gas value chain, including regasification, processing, transmission, and distribution.

Alongside physical infrastructure, the market architecture must also evolve. Increasing dependence on imported LNG means Malaysia will be increasingly exposed to international gas prices and global competition for supply. The right price signals, greater competition, and effective Third-Party Access (TPA) will therefore become increasingly important in attracting supply and investment while supporting efficient infrastructure utilisation.

MGA believes market reform should therefore progress alongside infrastructure readiness and the changing supply environment. The Natural Gas Roadmap (NGR), once finalised, is expected to provide an integrated pathway that brings together gas supply, infrastructure, market reform and investment, in support of Malaysia’s broader energy-transition direction.

Effective delivery will also require disciplined implementation against agreed timelines, responsibilities and KPIs, with the capability to intervene where necessary and sufficient flexibility to respond to changing global energy-market conditions.

Meeting Malaysia’s future energy requirements will require significant capital. MGA stressed that energy security and the investment required to deliver it is a shared responsibility. Government and regulators establish the policy, regulatory and market conditions; industry brings capital, operating capability and commercial experience; while financial institutions and other partners provide access to capital, financing structures, technology, and solutions.

“Energy security is a shared responsibility, and so is the investment required to deliver it. Capital requires confidence, and confidence requires clarity, consistency, predictability and commercially sustainable returns,” Abang Yusuf said.

MGA also stressed that partnership should extend beyond Government and energy companies. Banks, institutional investors, and development financiers should be brought into the energy conversation early as Malaysia’s supply dynamics, infrastructure requirements, and commercial models continue to evolve.

Beyond Malaysia, MGA believes ASEAN has an opportunity to move regional energy cooperation from ambition towards practical implementation. With ASEAN projected to become a net natural-gas importer as early as 2027, greater regional cooperation can provide an additional layer of resilience alongside strong domestic energy systems.

Rather than beginning with another large regional model, ASEAN could explore targeted areas of LNG cooperation, including regasification capacity sharing and joint procurement. Specific opportunities could first be assessed for technical feasibility and commercial viability, tested where appropriate and expanded where they demonstrate value.

“Regional collaboration does not have to start big. It has to start practical. Identify where cooperation can create measurable value, test what works, learn from it and then scale,” said Abang Yusuf.

MGA believes ensuring energy security, affordability and sustainability will ultimately require collective action across Government, regulators, industry, financiers, support services, and regional partners. The challenge is not only to establish the right strategies, but to ensure the wider energy ecosystem has the capability and confidence to turn direction into delivery.