Kuching: The Sarawak government’s response to questions on its hydrogen bus project has come under criticism from DAP Sarawak Chairman Chong Chieng Jen, who said the answers provided reveal the ineptitude, lack of transparency, and unaccountability of the Sarawak Government.
Chong, who is also ADUN for Padungan and Stampin MP, had submitted a question for the November 2025 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting seeking details on the acquisition and operational costs of the three hydrogen-powered buses introduced in 2020, which were suspended from service in August 2025.
“In the reply, the Sarawak Ministry of Transport disclosed that the acquisition cost of each bus was ‘less than RM1.5 million each.’
“On operational costs, the ministry stated only that the government subsidised the six-year trial, while hydrogen fuel was supplied by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) hydrogen plant and refuelling station,” he said in a statement.
Chong said that, based on the response, the State Government took six years to trial-run hydrogen-powered buses.
“Six years to test the technical feasibility of a bus, that is unheard of. Six years is also way too long for operational and infrastructural assessments,” he said.
He noted that the answer hides the actual operating costs for the three buses.
“Even if SEB supplied the hydrogen fuel, there are costs to SEB for the supply, and SEB, being fully-owned by the State Government, has a duty to disclose the figure.
“As for the part on operation costs being ‘subsidised by the government’, that begs the question how much the government subsidise on the hydrogen buses,” he said.
Chong also questioned the lack of figures on government subsidies for operating the buses.
“Are the operational costs of these three hydrogen buses so high that the State Government does not dare to disclose the figure to the public.
“The fact that all these operational costs are borne by the State Government and SEB (a State Government-owned company) makes it even more pertinent for the State Ministry of Transport to disclose the costs. Otherwise, the people of Sarawak will just be paying blindly (bayar buta) for these hydrogen buses,” he said.
Chong urges the Sarawak Minister of Transport to explain to the people of Sarawak why, after spending millions on the three hydrogen buses, their services were abruptly suspended since August, 2025.
“Was the operational cost too high? Were there technical issues associated with the hydrogen-powered vehicles that could not be resolved?
“Sarawakians deserve to know the answer,” he said.
