KUCHING: Sarawak has another new product that can potentially be explored to produce green energy – a strain of red yeast – which can produce up to 70 percent oil.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said that not many people know about the existence of this yeast but it was collected from the soil in Mukah by a group of researchers from University of Free State, Republic of South Africa in 1994.
“Several years ago, a leading oil and gas company contacted us wanting to research this yeast for biofuel development.
“Perhaps this is a good opportunity for the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) to revive this yeast research as another option to make biofuel,” he said at SBC’s 25th anniversary dinner at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on Tuesday (Nov 14).
His text-of-speech was read by the Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.
Also present were State Secretary and SBC chairman Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki and SBC chief executive officer Datuk Dr Yeo Tiong Chia.
Meanwhile, Abang Johari noted that the rural communities from as far as Ba’Kelalan and Bario have contributed to the success of SBC during the 25 years it was established, when they became an important source of knowledge for SBC research.
“They possess knowledge about plants that can be used as medicine or food that can be commercialised to produce food supplements that not only provide nutrition but have the potential to be used as medicine,” he said.
Thus, he is optimistic that the SBC Traditional Knowledge project will support the three pillars of the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, which is driven by innovation where the people enjoy economic prosperity, social inclusivity and environment sustainability.
He said the global framework of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) linked to traditional knowledge, also shares a common ground with the three pillars.
Elaborating, he said the objective of ABS emphasises fair and equitable sharing of benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources while contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
“I am proud to state that Sarawak is the first in Malaysia to implement ABS and this initiative has directly benefited the people of Sarawak.
“SBC has created a value chain for useful plants, which generate economic returns from their products and this approach has increased the financial self-sufficiency for local communities.
“In fact, six villages under the LitSara®️ essential oil project have received almost RM1.6 million in financial benefits since 2014,” he said.
