Power and money: Is Malaysia still banking on coal?

Power and the money, money and the power.

So goes the 1995 hit song "Gangsta's Paradise".

Indeed when it comes to coal-fired energy, the two are intertwined. One cannot separate the business of coal power from money matters. Simply put, no money, no coal energy.

Recognising this, in the global race to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change, several of the world’s largest advanced economies have recently delivered a strong message — an end to the gravy train of funding for all new international coal-fired plants.

This was most recently announced by China — the world’s largest emitter of harmful greenhouse gases and the biggest public funder of overseas coal plants — followed by South Korea and the G7, comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

South Korea and Japan are the second- and third-largest financiers of coal plants abroad.

But what about Malaysia?