Government accused of cronyism and nepotism as Petron appointed one of the fuel providers for government vehicles.
Updated: The Finance Ministry in a statement has clarified that Petron is not the sole supplier of petrol and diesel for Government vehicles. It said Petronas and Shell remain as suppliers.
“The appointment was made via an administrative measure as it relates to operational matters and does not involve any financial implications to the Government.
“With this approval, the Government obtains more choices between Petronas, Shell and Petron, and this will open more opportunities and healthy competition among petrol and diesel suppliers,” the statement said.
The Ministry said that the Government does not limit the number of suppliers, adding that other suppliers who are capable and have a wide network of stations throughout the country can also apply.
A letter of appointment from the Finance Ministry to Petron has gone viral on social media with the point of contention being that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s son Mirzan is a director in Petron Corporation, which owns Petron Malaysia.
The letter stated that Petron Fuel International Bhd (Petron) had been appointed a fuel provider for government vehicles through indent cards.It added that it hoped the appointment of Petron would provide “a better choice and alternative” to existing fuel providers.
It is unclear how many fuel providers have been engaged by the government.
Mirzan has been a director of the Filipino-based company since 2010.
Reportedly, he was elected a director on Aug 13, 2010, and holds 1,000 shares.
Under the company’s by-laws, a person has to be a shareholder to qualify as a director.
However, Petron Malaysia said in 2013 that Mirzan did not have any shares or a role in its Malaysian operations.
Criticising the move in an Instagram post, Umno supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam said that in the past, all government vehicles used Petronas fuel.
Petron is not the only company linked to Mahathir’s family that is in business with the government.
Previously, Mokhzani Mahathir-led Opcom was in the news after being one of the companies awarded with Telekom Malaysia contracts to install and maintain UniFi.
Opcom has said that it will continue bidding for government-linked companies’ contracts.