Malaysia steps up crisis response as energy reserves run low

Malaysia has announced a series of measures to deal with energy supply disruption caused by the Middle East conflict, while warning that the country has enough energy reserves only until the end of May, according to Reuters.

Economy Minister Akmal Nasir said in a televised statement that the government could still assure stable supplies in April and May, but that the main challenge would be how to meet the country’s energy needs from June onwards.

He said Bank Negara Malaysia would support companies hit by fuel shortages, while the government and state energy firm Petronas work to diversify energy sources, strengthen cooperation with trading partners and secure key production inputs. The government will also use data analysis to identify, monitor and respond to pressure points in the sectors hardest hit by the crisis, and will create a special access pathway to address shortages of essential medicines and medical devices.

On the same day, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) warned that raw material shortages, soaring logistics costs and tighter diesel supply were threatening production in sectors including food, household goods, packaging, chemicals and other consumer products. FMM said more than two-thirds of firms surveyed expected raw material shortages within four weeks, while nearly half had already cut output or suspended product lines and 51.8% had suffered shipment delays.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had separately announced earlier that Malaysian government employees would begin working from home from April 15 to help reduce fuel consumption and support the sustainability of energy supply, as the country tries to contain the impact of soaring fuel costs linked to the same conflict.