They generally take a NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) approach, supporting the green agenda without actually participating or supporting green development without wanting to pay for it.
NIMBY is a way of thinking regarding public acceptance which suggests that those opposing developments are motivated by concern ‘for their backyard’.
They would prefer developments to be sited elsewhere, despite being supportive of them in principle (Devine-Wright, 2007).
The idea that the NIMBY attitude leads to a low willingness to pay for green electricity was supported by Burningham (2000).
People who take a NIMBY line often appear to be self-interested, uninformed and unrepresentative of the community (Barnett et al., 2012).
They might be supportive of the implementation of a new technology which is advantageous to the environment, yet they are reluctant to support it physically or financially.
They choose energy without considering the impact on the environment and based only on the cheaper price.
This may be because Malaysia currently relies on an electricity supply which is mainly sourced from conventional power plants.
Most Malaysians do not bother about the types of energy sources as long as the electricity supply is stable and sufficient to support their daily lives. Subsequently, Malaysians generally do not question or request information on energy sources, but take it for granted.
However, the government may have an opposite point of view in supporting green energy.
The total social cost is the ultimate concern of the government in paying for or subsidising the renewable energy market.
Irreparable and irreversible environmental impacts may occur, as conventional power plants create plenty of environmental problems, such as emitting harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere and polluting the land and water.
The government would need to pay more for an environmental recovery process in the long term.
Therefore, the government would rather opt for a cleaner solution to solve the problems of pollution caused by conventional power generation.
Increasing utilisation of renewable energy is vital to slowly replace the conventional energy sources in order to inhibit the deteriorating environmental situation.
Hence, marine renewable energy is suitable for implementation in order to contribute to the renewable energy market.
ln the current stage, thorough research and study is the major strategy that can be carried out with the support of the government in the form of financial aid.
It is possible that Malaysia can be the first mover in this region to implement marine renewable energy if studies can be initiated early.