REPORT GREEN TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR 'Skilling Up for the ...

REPORT
GREEN TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR
‘Skilling Up for the Green Technology’
Date : 17 June 2010
Time
: 9.00 am – 12.00 noon
Venue : Grand Blue Wave Hotel, Shah Alam
Organised by : Department of Polytechnic Education
Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Page
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
i
PREFACE 1
PROCEEDINGS :
Keynote Address : ‘The Green Skills Challenge – Polytechnic Initiatives
through Collaborative Partnership’
Y.Bhg. Dato’ Hj. Imran bin Idris,
Director General, DPE 1
Presentation 1 : ‘Strategic Thrust Towards a Green Malaysia’
Ms Ng Soo Tian,
Regulatory & Development Division Secretary, KeTTHA 2
Presentation 2 : ‘Skilling Up for the Green Economy – The Australian
Perspective’.
Mr. John Cawley, Executive Director, Swinburne
University of Technology, Australia 3
Presentation 3 : ‘The Green Building Index to a Green Construction
Industry for Malaysia’
Ar Chan Seong Aun, GBI Accreditation Panel,
Greenbuildingindex Sdn. Bhd. 3

QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION 4
CONCLUDING REMARKS 8
Appendix A :
Photos

PREFACE
The Green Technology themed ‘Skilling Up for the Green Technology’ represented the
combined efforts of the Department of Polytechnic Education (DPE) and experts from
different fields - The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA),
Greenbuildingindex Sdn. Bhd. and Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, to
create awareness of the urgency to conserve the ecosystem and find solutions to
problems caused by destruction of the environment and natural resources. The
seminar was also aimed at kickstarting an action plan to embed elements of green
technology in the polytechnic curriculum. This would include incorporating core
competencies in specific programs, strengthening green technology modules in existing
programs eg. Building Services Engineering as well as incorporating sustainability in
facilities, co-curricular facilities and community services.
A total of 56 participants from 45 companies attended this seminar held on 17 June
2010 at the Grand Blue Wave Hotel in Shah Alam.
PROCEEDINGS
KEYNOTE ADDRESS : ‘The Green Skills Challenge – Polytechnic
Initiatives through Collaborative Partnership’
Presenter : Y. Bhg. Dato’ Hj. Imran Bin Idris
Director General, DPE
The Director General, DPE in his keynote address gave a brief on the programs
available in polytechnics, the TVET system in Malaysia, DPE’s engagement with
industry for policy and curriculum development, highlighting the stringent process
involved in the development and approval of the polytechnic curriculum. He also gave a
sneak preview into the ‘green initiatives’ of countries like the United States of America,
South Korea and Australia. The Director General proceeded by reiterating the Prime
Minister’s call that Malaysia, one of the top 17 mega-biologically diverse countries in the
world, with rainforest covering 60% of our landmass should embrace a leadership role

in green technology. He ended his keynote address by stating DPE’s commitment to
play a positive role in the green technology movement, especially in view of the fact that
the Environmental Engineering Program is offered at Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah (PSIS)
in Sabak Bernam. DPE’s way forward would be through embedding elements of green
technology in the polytechnic curriculum, which would include incorporating core
competencies in specific programs, strengthening green technology modules in existing
programs eg. Building Services Engineering as well as incorporating sustainability in
facilities, co-curricular facilities and community services.
Presentation : ‘Strategic Thrust Towards a Green Malaysia’
1 st Presenter : Ms Ng Soo Tian,
Regulatory & Development Division Secretary, KeTTHA,
Ms Ng Soo Tian touched on the ‘Whys and Whats’ of Green Technology leading to the
establishment of the National Green Technology Policy. Her presentation also included
an overview of the strategic thrusts which comprised strengthening the industrial
framework, provision of a conducive environment for the development of green
technology, intensifying human capital development as well as research and
innovations and finally creating public awareness through promotional activities. She
also elaborated on the various government initiatives such as restructuring of the
National Energy Centre to the Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (MGTC) to
enable MGTC to become a focal point for green technology development. Also
included in her presentation were :- the rationale for the formation of the National Green
Technology Council, green technology financing schemes, green townships, green
procurement, promotion and education, introduction of electric vehicles, integration of
green topics, international green tech and eco products, exhibitions and conferences.
Ms Ng also gave participants an insight into various new areas under green technology,
job opportunities and finally the role of polytechnics.

Presentation : ‘Skilling Up for the Green Economy – the Australian
Perspective’.
2 nd Presenter : Mr. John Cawley, Executive Director, Swinburne
University of Technology, Australia
Mr. John Cawley commenced his presentation with an overview of the tasks of the
Council of Australia Government (COAG) followed by the role of the Australian
government in this area. He also touched on the issue of sustainability, national policy
drivers, the Green Skills Agreement (GSA), goals, global responsibility and in particular
the role played by Swinburne in contributing to the green movement in Australia. Like
the second presenter, Mr. John Cawley also spoke on the sectors involved as well as
job opportunities available.
Presentation : ‘The Green Building Index to a Green Construction
Industry for Malaysia’
3 rd Presenter : Ar Chan Seong Aun, GBI Accreditation Panel,
Greenbuildingindex Sdn. Bhd.
Ar Chan Seong Aun highlighted the urgency for conservation of energy and resources
and recycling in the Malaysian context as Malaysia has the highest per capita energy
consumption among the ASEAN countries. He also emphasized that the key
component for a sustainable future lies in the way Malaysia plans its cities, given the
prevalence of hyper urbanisation in Malaysia. His presentation also focused on the
importance of identifying our priorities to harmonize with the local climate, traditions,
culture, building codes and practices. Also, highlighted were the elements that
constitute a green building. He ended his presentation with an explanation of the
greenbuildingindex as a tool for rating buildings based on energy efficiency, indoor
environmental quality, sustainable site planning and management, material and
resources, water efficiency and innovation.

QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
Panelists:
1. Y. Bhg. Dato’ Haji Imran Bin Idris
Director General, DPE
2. Ms. Ng Soo Tian
Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water
3. Mr. John Cawley
Executive Director, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
4. Mr Ar Chan Seong Aun
GBI / Association of Consulting Engineers (ACEM) / Architect
Association (PAM)
1) Questions from : En. Razak Muzafar - Smart Tech
i) Can you elaborate further on the soft loans given to green technology as the
terms for green financing appear to be stricter compared to other loans
Response from : Ms Ng Soo Tian - KeTTHA
A total of 27 applications for green certificate were approved by KeTTHA. The
granting of soft loans to finance green projects is undertaken by a technical
committee. The terms stipulated in soft loans for green financing is stricter as
banks are unfamiliar with green technology and the risks involved. KeTTHA has
adopted a few strategies to enable all involved parties to have a better
understanding of green technology projects :- meeting with Bank Negara,
Ministry of Finance and CDC and banks and conducting training sessions for all
bank personnel regarding green technology.
ii)
RMK 10 has allocations for coal plants but none for green technology. Why is
that so
Response from: Ms Ng Soo Tian - KeTTHA
Coal plant was included because of the increasing demand for electricity. There
was no allocation for the renewable energy project, using bio mass to generate
electricity, as it was funded by the private sector.
iii)
Why is renewable energy which is more expensive, involves larger investment
and has a greater impact on society, awarded only 5 points instead of 100
points

Response from: Ar Chan Seong Aun - Green Building Index (GBI)
Presently, the design of most Malaysian buildings do not measure up to the
standards set by GBI. In fact, the 5 points are awarded as an encouragement for
those in the building industry to come up with designs higher than that set in MS
1525, buildings which would reduce energy.
2) Questions from: Mohd Azhar bin Mohamad - Environmental Consultant
i) What is the government’s direction on issues related to renewable energy Are
there any set targets
Response from : Ms Ng Soo Tian - KeTTHA
The new Renewal Energy (RE) Policy and action plan has been approved by the
government. The RE and Energy Efficiency (EE) Acts, with the proposed feed-in
tariff, will be tabled in Parliament in October.
ii)
The GBI rating applies to new buildings. What about the old buildings
Response from :
Ar Chan Seong Aun - Green Building Index (GBI)
The net meter used for measuring electricity in Malaysia, measures electricity
going out and coming back (known as feed-in tariff). In this respect, the solar
panel is cheaper. GBI has launched the non-residential existing building tools
(refer GBI website), in view of the fact that many existing buildings are really
archaic.
iii)
How is Australia going to achieve the objective of becoming a low carbon
economy, with a reduction of net GHG emissions of 60 – 90% by 2050
Response from : Mr. John Cawley - Swinburne University of Technology
Australia is a big country surrounded by water, with lots of sunshine and wind.
Water and other sources are under consideration as ways to generate energy. A
lot of things can be done within the given time frame.

3) Suggestion from : Mohd Zainuddin b Ayub - Excellent T&C Management
(M) Sdn Bhd.
We hope that companies that provide energy serving services enabling savings
up from 10 – 30% will be appreciated and recognized.
Response from : Dato’ Hj Imran bin Idris - Director General, DPE
DPE would take note of suggestion.
4) Question from : Normala bt Ariffin – A & I Interior Design
i) Why are other ministries eg. Ministry of Works not included in moving the Green
Technology agenda
Response from : Ms Ng Soo Tian - KeTTHA
The Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water was tasked with coming up
with the National Green Technology Policy. The selection of ministries,
agencies, private sectors, NGO’s and others experts to craft policy matters
related to the Green Technology depended on their roles. The Ministry of
Education and Higher Education were involved because the syllabus needs to be
reviewed to include a green syllabus. The Human Resource Ministry, Ministry of
Youth and Sports, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development were involved for
similar reasons - the training institutes under these ministries, need to be updated
so that green topics are incorporated into the syllabus of these training institutes.
The Ministry of Works was not included because their target area is human
capital development. However, the Ministry of Works is aware of the green
elements and the fact that the government has made the decision that all new
government buildings need to have green features.
5) Question from: Columbus – Rasma Corporation Sdn. Bhd.
i) Will the Swinburne campus in Sarawak be making any contributions in the area
of green technology to Malaysia, considering the significant inroads made in
Australia

Response from: Mr John Cawley - Swinburne University
There are no sustainable programs in the Sarawak campus, training is provided for
lecturers.
ii)
Who should we be talking to regarding this matter in polytechnics as we are
actually providing some teaching equipments regarding Renewal energy.
Response from:
Dato’ Haji Imran bin Idris - Director General, DPC
DPE always welcomes any ideas and also opinions. Do write to us and we would
take note of the company’s interest.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Director General pointed out that the overwhelming response received during the
Green Technology Seminar augurs well for the National Economic Policy (NEM). He
highlighted the pivotal role of polytechnics in spearheading Green Technology, with its
student enrolment of close to 90,000 spread over 27 campuses nationwide. He
emphasized the necessity for a sense of urgency for industries to work together with
polytechnics to strengthen existing modules so that we can groom a new generation of
leaders of sustainability.