Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad resigns as NRES minister – will the gov’t’s plan to electrify 50% of its fleet continue?

Following Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s resignation as the economy minister, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has also announced his withdrawal as a cabinet minister by resigning from his position as the natural resources and environmental sustainability (NRES) minister, effective July 4. This comes after he failed to defend his PKR vice-presidency in the party’s recent divisional polls.

In a statement, the MP for Setiawangsa said he submitted his letter of resignation to prime minister Anwar Ibrahim today, and that he would be on leave from tomorrow until July 3. He added that he would focus on serving his constituency in Setiawangsa.

Nik Nazmi said that since his appointment, first as minister of natural resources, environment and climate change from December 2022 to December 2023, and then as NRES minister from December 2023 until the present, he had strived to, together with his team, implement much-needed reform, including amending the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) Phase 1 to make environmental impact assessments reports more transparent.

He also listed the implementation of subsidy re-targeting under the electricity imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) mechanism in the peninsular as another of his achievements. During his tenure as NRES minister, Nik Nazmi also delved into various mobility-related discussions, including electrification, with the highlight being the transition strategy for the government to have half of its new vehicle purchases being made up of EVs by 2025. It is not known if plans for this will continue now that he is no longer in the cabinet.

Earlier this year, he stated his hopes that the removal of subsidies for RON 95 petrol and diesel would encourage more Malaysians to purchase EVs as a way to manage the cost of higher fuel prices. Other mobility topics he has covered include getting the country to focus on transit-oriented developments and suggesting that a vehicle congestion charge be imposed in Kuala Lumpur to ensure the city’s long-term sustainability.

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