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TENAGA Nasional Berhad (TNB) has secured the prestigious Brand of the Year 2025–2026 award at the World Branding Awards in Osaka, reaffirming the utility’s sustained commitment to strengthening its brand presence amid a rapidly evolving energy landscape.
The accolade, conferred by the London-based World Branding Forum (WBF), represents the organisation’s highest global recognition. TNB was the only Malaysian energy-sector brand to receive the honour this year. It has previously won the same award in 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
WBF, a non-profit entity focused on advancing global branding standards, recognised fewer than 100 winners from 1,092 nominated brands worldwide. This year’s edition involved more than 91,000 consumers across 66 countries, with winners assessed through brand evaluation, consumer market research and public voting.
The award underscores the work of TNB’s 35,000-strong workforce serving over 11 million customers nationwide. TNB expressed appreciation to customers and stakeholders for their support as it continues efforts to enhance customer experience and progress towards a more sustainable and reliable energy future.
WBF global chair Richard Rowles said the recognition illustrated the strength of consumer trust, noting that 70 per cent of votes were cast by the public.
“When consumers vote for a brand, it is not merely recognition; it is validation,” he said. “Public voting is the highest form of brand acknowledgement — it turns perception into proof, marketing into meaning, and presence into trust.”
He added that the awards highlight not only achievement but also the sustained effort, vision and emotion underpinning a brand’s evolution.
Port Klang Residents Struggle Without Power Following Sudden Electrical Room Fire
While TNB celebrated global acclaim, more than 600 residents of Block C at Flat Seri Perantau in Port Klang have spent the week in distress after a fire broke out in the building’s electrical distribution room at around 4am last Sunday, plunging the entire block into darkness.
The prolonged outage has paralysed daily life, especially for elderly residents, dialysis patients and families with infants.
Sulaiman Manan, 76, who lives on the third floor and relies on an oxygen machine, said the blackout has left him in a precarious state.
“I often suffer shortness of breath, and without electricity my chest tightens easily. I can’t do anything,” he said, adding that climbing the stairs repeatedly could cause him to fall or faint.
Dialysis patient S Kumaran, 51, said the non-operational lifts have made his thrice-weekly trips for treatment physically taxing.
“After dialysis, the body feels weak and the legs are painful. Climbing the stairs is frightening, and everything becomes more difficult if this problem drags on,” he said.
Another resident, Zainon Idrus, 50, said she was forced to rent nearby temporary accommodation to manage her children and young grandchildren.
“I have grandchildren from two months to three years old. It is difficult to bathe them, cook or manage anything. Water supply is also limited to only two points for the entire block,” she said.
Mohd Fadli Ahmad, 38, whose 73-year-old mother lives in the block, said the flat had never experienced such a long disruption.
“My mother refuses to stay elsewhere, so we are trying our best to meet her basic needs,” he said.
According to resident Azlan Mahad, 43, the fire on the third floor destroyed the distribution board and cut power to all units.
“The repair cost is estimated at around RM100,000. We are still waiting for approval and action from the building management,” he said.
Block C residents’ association chair Azizul Anuar said community leaders and NGOs had been mobilised to help provide temporary support.
“Previously the longest outage was only two or three days. This time residents are facing a much longer period and urgently need assistance,” he noted.
He said rewiring work is expected to take about two weeks, though no firm start date has been set due to cost and technical assessments still under review.
Sujono Masdi, a technician representing the building management company, said all relevant parties had been notified and efforts were underway to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. - December 12, 2025