KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia has enacted sweeping amendments to its Atomic Energy Licensing Act that will put in place nationwide nuclear controls, in force by Dec. 1, 2025, requiring permits and international inspections for nearly every atomic activity. According to a Reuters report, Dec. 2, 2025, “ Nuke terror: Malaysia lists death penalty in new law.” The new Malaysian nuclear law’s goal is to conform with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards and combat sabotage and nuclear terrorism with some of the region’s most severe penalties.
What does Malaysia’s nuclear law do?
At the heart of the overhaul is the Atomic Energy Licensing (Amendment) Act 2025, which modernises Malaysia’s 1984 atomic law by consolidating safety, security, safeguards, and liability under a single statute. Under Malaysian nuclear law, no one may engage in activities related to radioactive or nuclear material, radiation generators, or any other devices without a licence or permit issued by the Department of Atomic Energy or Atom Malaysia.
Among the major additions is a system of permits for cross-border shipments of atomic material. Spotlighted by business daily The Edge, Section 12A carries proactive provisions which make it illegal for any individual to import, export, transship or transit material, item or technology that is radioactive and nuclear in nature or items deemed as nuclear related without permission from the director general of Atom Malaysia – effectively plugging loopholes through which shipments were able to pass through Malaysian ports under less strict conditions.
IAEA inspections / tough sanctions under increased scrutiny
The changes also enshrine IAEA safeguards in national legislation. Operators must file decommissioning plans in advance of construction, maintain careful accounting of nuclear material, and agree to IAEA inspections and reporting requirements—effectively building international verification into the permitting process.
The Malaysian nuclear law also contains stringent criminal provisions, including Section 41D, which makes it a crime to use radioactive or nuclear material “to cause the death of or harm to any person” or that results in significant damage, with punishment of 30 to 40 years in prison and up to the death penalty in severe cases. Legislators, meanwhile, say the sanctions are designed to prevent nuclear terrorism and sabotage as Malaysia seeks to explore nuclear power in its climate strategy.
A long way to singing a holistic nuclear law
The new structure culminated over a decade of pledges to establish an all-encompassing Malaysian nuclear law. The Malaysian assertions at the U.N. General Assembly: In a 2012 statement to the assembly, Malaysia informed diplomats that it would amend its Atomic Energy Licensing Act to enable it to become a party to important nuclear security conventions — a commitment reiterated in its progress report from the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.
But in 2018, a study in the trade journal Asian Power cautioned that outdated regulations and the absence of a modern statute were stymying Malaysia’s nuclear aspirations — even as policymakers presented atomic energy as an eventual option. According to public opinion polls conducted during the same period, there was a complex mix of curiosity and concern about nuclear power.
Where does Malaysian nuclear law fit in with the energy transition
The changes today come as Malaysia conducts a formal feasibility study into civilian nuclear power as a “clean, stable and competitive” part of its future energy mix and works toward reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, World Nuclear News reported.
And a previous IAEA nuclear security mission applauded Malaysia’s increased focus on tightening checks, while calling for ongoing training and the finalisation of legislative tweaks — benchmarks now held up by the government as met by the Malaysian nuclear law. How rigorously these new rules are enforced, and whether they succeed in winning over a sceptical public, will ultimately determine whether Malaysia’s nuclear ambitions make the leap from policy papers to power plants.
