15/5/06 MIRI (The Star) - B5, Malaysia's bio-fuel, scored perfect marks in initial tests.

The fuel, which comprises 5% palm oil and petrol, was used in government-owned vehicles for a month.

The results – it is clean, gives efficient combustion and there is no engine breakdown. 

It will now be put to the “acid test” – it will be used by public buses travelling on Sarawak's rugged roads and terrain.

Three bus companies here have applied to the Plantation, Industries and Commodities Ministry to use the fuel.

Their 30-odd buses ply the long and scattered routes in the northern half of the state and Kuching, some 1,000km away.

Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the Cabinet has allowed the companies to try out the fuel.

“They have been granted permits to experiment with the bio-fuel for their buses.

“We want to see what kind of effect the bio-fuel has on vehicles that consume a large amount of fuel every day and which operate over very long distances on very tough roads.

“We must be absolutely certain of its quality before we sell it to the public. There are no tougher places than Sarawak to test this,” he said.

When the B5 fuel makes its debut in Miri, it would be the first time that it is used outside the Klang Valley.

Since its official launch in March, the fuel has been tested on vehicles from the ministry, the Defence and Works Ministry and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

“We conducted regular monitoring on the performances of at least 90 vehicles that tried out the bio-fuel,” said Chin.

“We recorded all information about the effects of the bio-fuel on the various parts of the engines.

“The results are very good. The bio-fuel did not show any defects and did not cause any problem to any of the vehicles that used it. 

“All the engines showed very clean and efficient performance,” he added.