Hurting businesses: An aerial view of the Prai Industrial Estate, with some customers in the industrial zone reporting natural gas supply disruptions. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Penang chapter members who are attempting to bypass disruptions to their normal supply of piped natural gas are finding that procuring suitable alternatives is easier said than done.
As they attempted to obtain gas supplied through tankers, they found that the approval process has proven to be tedious and bureaucratic, said FMM’s Penang chapter chairman Datuk Seri Lee Tiong Li.
He said several factories in Perai are exploring alternatives as they have scaled down productions due to the sudden interruption in gas supply following the gas pipeline fire at Putra Heights, Selangor on April 1.
He said sourcing gas through tankers was among the alternatives, but as this option required prior approval, members faced delays that hampered recovery efforts.
“The approval process for gas tankers has been described as slow and burdensome, raising calls for expedited procedures,” he said, adding that a survey by FMM found that many of its members were impacted, with some reporting operational limitations due to the sudden interruption in supply.
Lee noted there were still many FMM members who have yet to report how the disruption has affected them.
“Although several of them in Penang reported disruption in production activities, the lack of viable alternatives has heightened concerns within the industrial sector,” he said.
Lee said FMM representatives met with Gas Malaysia Bhd yesterday to request for faster approvals for installing gas tankers temporarily until the gas supply line is restored.
He said FMM is also urging Gas Malaysia to help implement preventive measures to avoid future incidents and ensure a more resilient supply system.
Lee added that the manufacturing community remains hopeful the issue will be resolved promptly to prevent further economic impact.
In a statement on Monday, Gas Malaysia said the supply curtailment following the gas pipeline incident will be widened to additional areas to include Merbau, Tronoh and Hutan Melintang in Perak, as well as Junjung in Kedah.
It also said that while the previously announced curtailment period remains unchanged and is expected to continue until April 20, they have been informed that new areas and additional new customers will be affected due to operational limitations stemming from the incident.
The gas curtailment had already affected many areas in Klang Valley, with more than 200 FMM members impacted along with four power stations
Meanwhile, Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta) president Datuk William Ng said gas supply curtailment has already impacted SMEs including those in Perai.
“A few of our members have reported downtime to their production as a result of the cut-off,” he said.
