By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, May 26: The supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders across Sarawak has been fully restored following the disruption caused by a landslide incident at the Bintulu LPG bottling plant earlier this year, says Minister for Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi.
Delivering his ministerial winding-up speech in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) today, Julaihi explained that the landslide, which occurred on Jan 29, 2025, had temporarily disrupted operations at the Bintulu LPG cylinder filling facility, leading to a shortage of supply particularly in the northern region of the State.
“In response, the Sarawak government, through Petroleum Sarawak Berhad’s (PETROS) subsidiary PETROSNiaga Sdn Bhd, immediately increased the filling capacity at the IOT Senari facility and a temporary bottling plant in Bintulu to 30,000 cylinders per day,” he said.
With these swift measures in place, Julaihi confirmed that the LPG supply situation in Sarawak has since returned to normal.
He, however, expressed disappointment over the lack of public appreciation for the efforts undertaken by PETROS and PETROSNiaga to resolve the crisis.
“When the landslide happened, there were a lot of criticisms. But now that everything is back to normal, I don’t hear any ‘thank you’ to PETROS or PETROSNiaga. People only know how to criticise,” he pointed out.
Julaihi highlighted that LPG bottling is a delicate and high-risk operation that is often underestimated by the public.
“The process is not as simple and easy as we perceive. In this case, the landslide was a natural disaster beyond our control.
“It affected the area where gas bottling takes place, which is located directly beneath a large reservoir tank. Continuing operations in such a situation would have been extremely dangerous,” he explained.
Nonetheless, he assured the august House that the government remains committed to strengthening Sarawak’s energy security and will continue to take proactive steps to ensure consistent LPG supply across the State, especially in times of crisis. – DayakDaily
