The Federal Government has agreed to give Sarawak 1,000 Approved Permits (APs) as well as tax exemptions to import battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen-powered vehicles (FECVs) into the state.

According to Malay Mail, the APs were awarded to the state following a briefing by the state Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg to the Federal Cabinet and Prime Minister a few days ago.

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According to Openg, these are the first incentives Sarawak has received from the Federal Government. This is also the first time a state can import vehicles on its own.

According to the same report, Openg stressed that the petrochemical and sustainable power generation industries are two critical pillars of the state’s Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS 2023) which is designed to upgrade Sarawak to developed status and create up to 195,000 new jobs.

However, for now, details are scarce on what type of vehicles will be imported and if vehicles will be state, commercial or privately owned. Additionally, the timeline for when APs will be made available is also not known at this time.