KUALA LUMPUR – The country’s rubber industry is expected to soar in the coming years as commodity cooperation with China strengthens.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to China last Sunday provided opportunities for increased cooperation in the field of commodities and agriculture-based industries, such as rubber, palm oil, biodiesel, and access to Malaysian agricultural products for the Chinese market.
Following that, Fadillah, who is also plantation and commodities minister, said the ministry is also planning to hold a mission to China to discuss cooperation in areas that can be developed.
“If you look at it in terms of rubber, we can focus on the products we produce that are used in the construction industry, which are products that can ensure, for example, that the buildings can withstand earthquake tremors,” he said after officiating the Malaysian Rubber Board Technology Day (LGM) 2023 here.
Elaborating on the rubber innovation product, Fadillah said LGM has collaborated with Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) to develop a solid technology based on seismic rubber bearing products to deal with structural movement due to temperature changes or protection from tremors caused by earthquakes.
He mentioned the Penang Second Bridge, the Hevea Malaysia Academy building in Langkawi, and the MPOB building in Lahad Datu, Sabah, as examples of Malaysian structures that used seismic rubber bearings.
LGM and TARRC also conducted NaturalFR research with success. Rubber products made from NaturalFR compounds have flame retardant, low smoke, and low toxicity properties and have been used in the door entrances of several railway stations in the United Kingdom.
The same council also witnessed the exchange of two agreements, namely the memorandum of agreement between LGM and Jupiter Solution, Natrab MFBI Enterprise and the Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC), as well as the Commercialisation Cooperation Agreement between LGM and the MRC to promote LGM’s innovations at home and abroad. – September 19, 2023