Seven complaints on foreign vehicles filling up with subsidised petrol, Malaysia says
PUTRAJAYA - The Malaysian government has received seven complaints on foreign-registered vehicles filling up their tanks with the RON95 subsidised petrol since the country reopened its land borders with Singapore and Thailand on April 1.
Azman Adam, enforcement director at the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry said all the cases were reported in Johor - implying these involved Singapore-registered vehicles.
He said two petrol stations in Johor are being investigated for allowing these foreign vehicles to fill up their tanks with subsidised fuel, Bernama news agency reported him as saying on Tuesday (April 5).
"We are finalising the investigation," he told a press conference in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya, when asked to comment on viral video clips of vehicles with foreign registration numbers filling petrol using yellow nozzles.
In Malaysia petrol pumps with yellow nozzles are used to dispense the subsidised RON95 fuel, while green nozzles contain the RON97 grade that are priced much higher.
For the March 31 to April 6 week, the RON95 fuel costs RM2.05 (66 Singapore cents) per litre, while RON97 is priced at RM3.91 a litre.
Diesel is priced by the Malaysian government at RM2.15 per litre for the week.
Malaysia has imposed a ban on the sale of RON95 petrol to foreign-registered vehicles since Aug 1, 2010, to ensure that the petrol subsidy is given only to Malaysians.
Under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and Control of Supplies Regulations 1974, individuals can be fined up to RM1 million or jailed three years, or both, if found guilty, while entities and companies can be fined a maximum of RM2 million (S$643,000).
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi, in a statement Saturday (April 3), warned that petrol station operators who sell subsidised petrol to vehicles with foreign registration numbers would face stern action.
"If the RON 95 petrol is used by unqualified parties, it will affect the supply for our own people," said Datuk Seri Azman, as quoted by Bernama.
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