By our Reporter
The Malaysian government has announced plans to phase out the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles and end the sale of natural gas vehicles (NGV) in the country.
Loke Siew Fook, Minister of transport, spoke at a press conference recently, according to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), a local media organisation.
In Malaysia, CNG is referred to as NGV.
Fook said CNG-powered vehicles can no longer be registered or be used in Malaysia from July 1, 2025.
He also said Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), a government-owned oil and gas company, will halt the sale of CNG at its stations in stages, starting on July 1, 2025.
The minister said with only about 44,383 NGVs currently in the country — accounting for 0.2 percent of vehicles in Malaysia, excluding motorcycles — the safety of road users and the public will be restored.
“The NGV tanks of these vehicles are now reaching the end of their service life and need to be replaced and NGV tanks typically have a safe usage period of 15 years,” Fook said.
He further said there are also some car owners who have modified their vehicles using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, which are very dang3rous.
The minister said the vehicles had caused explosions during accidents.
Fook said an assistance package aimed at helping owners of CNG-powered vehicles during the coming transition period has been put in place.