Hajiji (second left) presenting a mock key to Comm Jauteh for the state’s contribution of high-powered motorcycles to Sabah police.
KOTA KINABALU: Shell Malaysia has shelved its plan to close down its petrol stations in Sabah.
This was after an intervention from Putrajaya as well as a series of discussions with the state government, disclosed Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“The Sabah government welcomes the good news,” the Chief Minister said yesterday.
“We have brought this issue to the attention of the Federal Government.
“We appreciate the Federal Government’s sensitivity to the situation in Sabah and we appreciate that they have listened.”
Hajiji was commenting on Shell Timur Sdn Bhd’s announcement yesterday not to proceed with the closure of its 34 petrol stations in Sabah effective January.
Following Shell’s announcement of the impending closure in June, Hajiji met with the chairman of Shell Malaysia, Siti Hurrairah Sulaiman, to discuss the matter.
It was reported in June that the Shell stations would be closed in early January, including 10 in Tawau, two in Semporna, six in Lahad Datu and 12 in Sandakan.
Shell Timur, which operates Shell kiosks in Sabah and Labuan, had confirmed then that it was closing several less productive retail stations to sustain the company’s performance in an ongoing review.
According to news reports, the move was mainly because of losses sustained over a number of years due to the automatic price mechanism (APM), which has not been reviewed since 1998.
APM is a formula used to calculate the price of fuel in the country.
It was reported that more than 500 people would lose their jobs if the closure takes place next year.
