Putrajaya appoints Petron as a fuel provider for gov't vehicles

Putrajaya has appointed Petron as "one of the fuel providers” for government vehicles and a photo of the appointment letter has gone viral.

It is unclear which other companies are on the list but Petron's appointment has raised eyebrows because Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's son Mirzan is a director in Petron's parent company Petron Corporation, which is based in the Philippines.

Malaysiakini has verified with government sources that the letter has been distributed to ministries.

The letter states that Petron would be "one of the fuel providers for government vehicles through indent cards."

It also says the Finance Ministry hopes the appointment of Petron "would provide a better choice and alternative to the existing fuel providers."

Mirzan has been a director and shareholder in Petron Corporation since 2010. In that year, he had 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. - Mkini