KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia faces a low to moderate risk of earthquakes over the next 10 years, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup assured parliament in a written reply.
The country’s position on the stable Sunda Shelf, far from the Pacific Ring of Fire, provides relative geological security, though regional tectonic plate interactions still exert stress. Continuous monitoring by the Minerals and Geoscience Department, factoring in historical data and seismic patterns, supports this assessment.
Sabah remains Malaysia’s most seismically active region, with potential for moderate to strong quakes, while Peninsular Malaysia’s events are unlikely to surpass magnitude 6.No technology can pinpoint exact timings, but small tremors will persist sporadically as tectonic energy releases naturally.
Repeated quakes could reactivate old fault lines, alter rock microstructures, and strain crustal layers, cumulatively reshaping landforms.
Such events may modify river courses and undermine slope stability, as seen in Sabah’s Ranau after the 2015 earthquake. This data will guide national risk assessments and preparedness efforts.