Dealers concerned about petrol discounts

The average price of 1 litre of RON95 petrol was RM2.30 in February 2017, compared to RM1.75 in February 2016.

PETALING JAYA: The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia is concerned about the fuel price discounts that dealers may soon be able to offer to consumers after weekly price announcements come into effect tomorrow.

“Even though KPDNKK has given oil companies and dealers the opportunity to do so with their permission, we will have to look at how viable the move is to the business,” said association president Datuk Khairul Annuar Abdul Aziz yesterday, referring to the Malay acronym for the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry.

The association reiterated its concern that dealers, especially those registering lower sales figures, would not be able to afford these discounts for their customers.

Khairul Annuar has previously been reported as saying that urban petrol kiosk operators may be able to offer lower petrol prices for promotional purposes, but not their rural counterparts.

“We didn’t say that urban areas are set to benefit from discounts,” he noted.

The association, he added, was only highlighting the difficulties faced by low-volume dealers, especially those in rural areas if discounts were in place, as they did not have the profit margins to offer such discounts.

The discounts are said to be in line with the announcement by Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin that petrol station operators could either follow the set ceiling price under the new system, or offer lower fuel prices for promotional purposes, provided they had obtained prior approval from the ministry.

Under the new system, weekly fuel prices will be announced every Wednesday and the new price will be enforced the next day.

Khairul Annuar said the association members would abide by the weekly pump price revision by the ministry.

“Dealers must get approval from the ministry for any incentives or discounts being considered.

“But the ministry has not spelled out the circumstances under which dealers are allowed to give discounts,” he said.