The government aims to boost the growth of its green technology sector, with a targeted revenue of RM180 billion and the creation of more than 200,000 green jobs by 2030.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that he is optimistic of the prospects of the sector, stressing that now is the time for the government and workers' and employers' organisations to venture into the promotion of green jobs and skills.

The greening of the regional economy also demands that the people in the region specialise in the right skills, adapt to changes and seize the new opportunities, Mahathir said in his speech at the opening of the 25th Asean Labour Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

His speech was read out by Human Resource Minister M Kulasegaran.

Mahathir said Malaysia hopes to promote the identification of the potentials and prospects for green industries and jobs in the Asean member countries during its tenure as the chairperson of the Asean labour sector.

Malaysia also hopes to develop corresponding regional policies regarding green industries during the three-year period in the chair from this year to 2020.

"Let us embark on our journey immediately. Malaysia will do its best to take the labour sector forward by incorporating green jobs and skills into the aegis of our chairmanship," he said.

Mahathir said Asean looks forward to working with its dialogue partners China, South Korea and Japan to make meaningful headway for the future of green jobs and skills in the region.

He expressed confidence that the Asean labour sector will witness significant outcomes in promoting and facilitating the greening of industries as well as jobs and skills.

Mahathir said he noted that over the last two years, employment in the green economy across Asean has grown by 3.2 percent, compared with the overall economic growth of five to six percent, which is almost 1.4 million new green jobs created, as reported in the Development Bank of Singapore Annual Report 2017 on Green Job Opportunities in Asean.

"In the same vein, we have seen strong growth, particularly in the renewable energy sector such as wind and solar power, as well as the production of equipment and installations for heating and energy saving that subsequently create jobs in the region.

"Looking forward, as technology evolves, we can expect an increase in the creation of new green jobs, and stronger growth in current occupations and greening industries," he said.

- Bernama