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An Empirical Study To Evaluate Public Participation On Renewable Energy Development In Malaysia
Date Issued
2018-08
Author(s)
Waznatol Widad Mohamad Ishak
Wan Nur Rahimi Aznie Zainudin [supervisor]
Abstract
Malaysia energy consumption still heavily depended on the non- renewable
energies (RE) such as fossil he1 and natural gases. Unfortunately, the use of the non-
RE is unsustainable and can contribute adversely towards the environment. Therefore,
in 2009, the government of Malaysia has announced a National Renewable Energy
Policy and Action Plan (NREPAP) as part of their commitment to accelerate the
growth of RE as an alternatives energy sources for the coming years. In order to
increase the RE consumption in the future, the government needs to consider a
mechanism to fund this development. One of the ways is by increasing the surcharge
on electricity bill for RE fund from 1.0 to 1.6 percent. However, as in all countries
around the world, any from of increment in an electricity bill is a politically very
sensitive issue. Therefore, an efficient and effective mechanism would be to place the
RE cost burden on all members of the society including households or business.
Besides that, RE such as solar, hydro and biomass in Malaysia is still at the premature
stage of its development and adoption. This is mainly due to lack of public awareness
and participation in new technology advancement. Aligned with the fifth strategic
thrust of the NREPAP which is to create public awareness and RE Policy Advocacy
Programs, this study attempts to investigate the public participation by measuring their
willingness to pay for energy generated from RE resources and its determinant that
influenced the willingness to pay level. Quantitative research methods are used to
achieve the research objectives. A survey using five-point Likert Scale questionnaire
is developed and collected from 500 respondents through cluster sampling method
around Peninsular Malaysia. Out of 450 set of questionnaires returned the total of 405
sets was deemed adequate for analysis. Therefore, the results of this study show that
there are a positive relationship and significant effect between the variables. Where, as
the awareness on RE, knowledge on RE, willingness to adopt RE technology,
environmental concern and attitude towards RE usage increases, the public
willingness to pay for RE development increases as well. Hence, the objectives of this
study are achieved successfully. The factors that found to be significant could
potentially be useful to design efficient advocacy programs that would be able to
secure the public participation towards the current RE development, future RE
development and enhancement of RE policy in Malaysia.
energies (RE) such as fossil he1 and natural gases. Unfortunately, the use of the non-
RE is unsustainable and can contribute adversely towards the environment. Therefore,
in 2009, the government of Malaysia has announced a National Renewable Energy
Policy and Action Plan (NREPAP) as part of their commitment to accelerate the
growth of RE as an alternatives energy sources for the coming years. In order to
increase the RE consumption in the future, the government needs to consider a
mechanism to fund this development. One of the ways is by increasing the surcharge
on electricity bill for RE fund from 1.0 to 1.6 percent. However, as in all countries
around the world, any from of increment in an electricity bill is a politically very
sensitive issue. Therefore, an efficient and effective mechanism would be to place the
RE cost burden on all members of the society including households or business.
Besides that, RE such as solar, hydro and biomass in Malaysia is still at the premature
stage of its development and adoption. This is mainly due to lack of public awareness
and participation in new technology advancement. Aligned with the fifth strategic
thrust of the NREPAP which is to create public awareness and RE Policy Advocacy
Programs, this study attempts to investigate the public participation by measuring their
willingness to pay for energy generated from RE resources and its determinant that
influenced the willingness to pay level. Quantitative research methods are used to
achieve the research objectives. A survey using five-point Likert Scale questionnaire
is developed and collected from 500 respondents through cluster sampling method
around Peninsular Malaysia. Out of 450 set of questionnaires returned the total of 405
sets was deemed adequate for analysis. Therefore, the results of this study show that
there are a positive relationship and significant effect between the variables. Where, as
the awareness on RE, knowledge on RE, willingness to adopt RE technology,
environmental concern and attitude towards RE usage increases, the public
willingness to pay for RE development increases as well. Hence, the objectives of this
study are achieved successfully. The factors that found to be significant could
potentially be useful to design efficient advocacy programs that would be able to
secure the public participation towards the current RE development, future RE
development and enhancement of RE policy in Malaysia.