Petronas

Taxi drivers affected by the temporary closure of 67 Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) stations in three states will not be compensated, The Star reports. According to Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, minister in the prime minister’s department, Petronas Dagangan has no plans to fork out any compensation to cabbies as there were still NGV stations operating across the country.

“Sixty one out of the 128 NGV stations are still operating and taxi drivers can still rely on alternative fuel such as petrol or diesel. There is no proposal by Petronas Dagangan to pay compensation to taxi drivers,” he said in reply to a question about the matter in Parliament yesterday.

On October 31, Petronas announced it was temporarily halting sales of NGV gas at 67 stations in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor to accommodate upgrading works. Abdul Rahman said that 22 NGV stations in Selangor and five in Negri Sembilan were still operating, and urged taxi drivers in the affected states to be patient.

The closure was announced after a man died when a tank containing NGV fuel exploded at a petrol station in Taman Mount Austin, Johor Baru on October 25. The halt will see work being carried out to upgrade safety features at the stations, and the affected stations are set to be reopened as soon as possible over the next couple of months.