KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 – Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has admitted that it has appointed a non-bumiputera company to install solar power systems at its petrol stations and that the selection was based on merit.
Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz stressed that the award was based on merit, with technical standards leading to the turnkey contract.
“I agree that Solarvest Energy Sdn Bhd was awarded a package in a recent contract.
“So, this contract awarded to Solarvest Energy is a turnkey, off-scale contract that needs to be delivered within a time frame.
“We wanted to include bumiputera players, but unfortunately, the selection process did not go through,” he said in a press conference to announce Petronas’ financial performance for 2023.
According to a recent media report, the Malaysian Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMM) expressed its regret at Petronas for appointing a non-bumiputera company for the installation of solar systems at its 300 petrol stations.
The report also stated that the installation cost for each petrol station was about RM1 million, which brings the total value of this project to RM300 million.
Commenting further, Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the actual value was much smaller, and what was reported was not that big.
“I will take note and strive to do better to involve more bumiputera participation in other projects.
“Petronas is indeed concerned about the bumiputera sector’s inspiration to be more involved in solar energy projects,” he said.
