Hajiji Noor, the chief minister of Sabah, will meet with Shell Malaysia to go over plans to close 35 of the company’s petrol outlets in the state and Labuan early next year.
Hajiji stated that he was aware of the circumstance following Shell Timur Sdn Bhd’s prior confirmation that it will be closing a number of its stations in East Malaysia in order to maintain its performance, whose company manages Shell’s retail operations in Sabah and Labuan.
He will be meeting with Shell Malaysia chairman Siti Hurrairah Sulaiman to find out more about the situation and the fate of the affected retailers in Sabah and Labuan.
It is believed that the Sabah government, through the wholly-owned Yayasan Sabah Group, owns a 15% equity holding in Shell Timur.
News reports state that the decision was made mostly as a result of losses incurred over a number of years as a result of the automatic price mechanism (APM), which has not been revised since 1998.
According to reports, when the shutdown occurs the next year, more than 500 workers will lose their jobs.
Ten stations in Tawau, two in Semporna, six in Lahad Datu, twelve in Sandakan, two in Labuan, and one each in Likas, Telipok, and Kuala Penyu are reportedly affected by the closure.
