Trump S Foreign Aid Freeze Affects Malaysian Picosatellite Programme

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Malaysia's first picosatellite programme is among those affected by US President Donald Trump’s executive order for a 90-day blanket freeze on foreign aid, which started on Jan 20.
This comes as several NGOs say they are hobbled by the order, which paid for various programmes, forcing some to crowdfund for staff salaries in the next three months.
It has barred aerospace company SpaceIn Sdn Bhd from applying for a USD$3 million (RM13.3 million) grant meant to support business innovation.
SpaceIn, a Universiti Sains Malaysia start-up, conducts space exploration and provides services via satellite.
“The new Trump policy has hit SpaceIn,” SpaceIn CEO Norilmi Amilia Ismail wrote on her public social media page, with a screenshot of an email she received.
The email was from the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, of the State Department’s Office of Multilateral Affairs.
SpaceIn had applied for the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0, granted by the US State Department through the US-Asean Smart Cities Partnership (Usascp), in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute.
This initiative is aimed at supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Asean member states pioneering innovative, carbon-neutral solutions to urban challenges.
SpaceIn made history in Nov 2023, when it launched Malaysia’s first picosatellite, SpaceANT-D, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Measuring five cubic centimetres and weighing less than 250g, SpaceANT-D will demonstrate the mission of storing and forwarding data for IoT applications.
US funding recipients
According to the US government website USA Spending, Malaysian recipients received a total of US$103 million (RM456 million) in grants from the US government’s various departments between 2008 and 2025.
Recipients include NGOs, universities, companies, government agencies and individuals.
The top recipients include organisations working on wildlife conservation and management, youth empowerment, refugee aid, education and environmental conservation.
Among universities which received US funding are Universiti Malaya, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Universiti Islam Antarabangasa and Universiti Teknologi Mara.
Most of the funding to universities was for scientific research projects and developing new courses.
Various state libraries also receive grants for library materials.
Other notable recipients include the Bar Council for developing a workshop on human rights training, the Malaysian Press Institute for a training session for journalists and Persatuan Kanser Malaysia for a vaccination programme involving refugee girls.
- Mkini

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