SIBU: The Sarawak government should either absorb the cost of changing yellow-coloured gas cylinders to red ones or to renew the licence of the gas distribution licence of MyGaz, says Alice Lau.
The Lanang MP Alice Lau said households or businesses with yellow-coloured cylinders (which used to be supplied by MyGaz) are in a fix as local gas dealers and distributors have stopped accepting it since November.
She said after the announcement that MyGaz's distribution licence would not be renewed when it expired at the end of November, owners of yellow-coloured gas cylinders were not able to exchange them for red cylinders (supplied by Petro Niaga) as dealers did not want to bear losses of about RM150 per cylinder.
Lau said a dealer told her the cost involved the cost of an empty red cylinder, "buying" the yellow cylinder from the owner as well as storage and transportation charges.
"Now these affected owners are in a dilemma as they are running out of gas," she said at a press conference on Wednesday (Dec 13).
"I urge the state government to absorb the cost and not force dealers to do it.
"If it can't absorb the cost, renew the distribution licence of MyGaz so that use of the yellow cylinder can continue," she said, adding that there are more than one million yellow cylinders in the state.
On Nov 21, state Minister of Utilities and Telecommunications Datuk Seri Julaihi Narawi announced in the Sarawak Assembly that the government had decided not to renew the LPG distribution licence of MyGaz, which expires at the end of November.
With the expiry of MyGaz's gas distribution licence, Petros Niaga now controls 100% of the LPG market from Dec 1.
