PETRONITA Brings Electricity to Orang Asli Village

TAPAH, 16 May 2016 – More than 80 orang asli villagers of Kampung Batu 20 near Tapah, Perak will for the first time receive electricity at their homes starting yesterday, courtesy of the Wives and Women Staff Association of PETRONAS (PETRONITA).

The association, in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) and the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), has successfully completed the installation of a solar photovoltaic system to generate up to 4kW of electricity for the village.

This Rural Electrification Project is part of PETRONITA’s community relation initiatives and is in line with PETRONAS’ corporate social investment (CSI) philosophy to contribute towards community well-being and development.

Kampung Batu 20, which is situated off Jalan Tapah – Brinchang heading to Cameron Highlands, comprises 14 houses. The village has been without access to electricity and other basic infrastructure partly due to its remote location.

The project is solely funded by PETRONITA and utilised the expertise of UTP through its Green Energy Cluster and Fundamental & Applied Sciences Department. It provided an opportunity for the UTP students from the department to apply their skills and knowledge to install the solar system as well as to teach the villagers on the system’s usage and maintenance.

The project will provide the villagers with electricity 24 hours a day and is expected to improve the livelihood of the community and to minimize safety and health hazards from continuous usage of firewood.

To mark the successful completion of the project, PETRONITA yesterday held a simple launch event officiated by Datin Dr. Azura Ahmad Tajuddin, President of PETRONITA and the wife of PETRONAS President and Group CEO, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

Datin Dr. Azura said, “PETRONITA hopes that the access to electricity will help improve the lives of the residents of Kampung Batu 20. We also hope that the teamwork demonstrated by all parties on this project serves as a true example of the Malaysian spirit of unity and togetherness.

“The financial support from PETRONITA, innovation from UTP as well as JAKOA’s insights into the Orang Asli community all contributed to the successful implementation of the system. All of this is the reason why all of us are standing here today,” she added.

For further queries, kindly forward to PETRONITA Office:

Level 3T, Tower 1, PETRONAS Twin Towers,
Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur
03-2392 0073 / 03-2331 1541/3026
petronitakl@petronas.com.my​​