Education ministry buys diesel to resolve urgency in Sarawak schools

PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Education will purchase diesel as an interim measure to resolve the urgency in Sarawak schools that are depending on generators for electricity.
Minister of Education, Dr Maszlee Malik said the Finance Ministry had considered the urgency and agreed to provide the funds, which would be channelled directly to the state Education Department.
"I will make sure that the relevant schools get the diesel before the students return after the holidays," he said in a statement here today.
He said the schools should actually be getting their supply from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd.
On June 11, Maszlee said the education ministry initiated an internal investigation into alleged abuse in the award of contract for the supply of solar energy and diesel to 369 schools in Sarawak.
Prior to 2017, the supply of diesel to the 369 schools were contracted to a number of companies.
However, since Jan 1, 2017, one of the companies, Jepak Holding Sdn Bhd, was awarded the contract to supply electricity to all 369 schools for a period of three years until Dec 31, 2019. — Bernama