Petrol dealers association want once-a-month fuel pricing mechanism

PETALING JAYA: As the government decides on the fuel subsidy plan, the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) says it supports a monthly price setting mechanism instead of the current weekly practice.

Its president Datuk Khairul Annuar Abdul Aziz said although it preferred the government's current fixed retail price for RON 95 petrol and diesel, it acknowledged that it was the government's prerogative to manage their fiscal policy.

Hence, Khairul Annuar said if the flotation mechanism was reintroduced for RON 95 petrol and diesel, the association was in favour of a monthly price setting mechanism instead.

"We are eagerly awaiting the final mechanism, as we have not been consulted," he said in a statement on Monday (May 27).

Previously, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government was looking for the "right moment" to implement its targeted RON 95 petrol fuel subsidy which was announced during Budget 2019 on Nov 2 last year.

Saifuddin had also said that the mechanism, the process, as well as the decision on the price cap in relation to global crude oil prices, were some of the details that the ministry had to decide on before implementing the targeted fuel subsidy.

Khairul Annuar also reiterated its stance that it was supportive of the government's proposal for the subsidy to be directly deposited into the recipient's bank account.

"This mechanism will be the most effective and least disruptive to our operations and working capital," he said.

Last month, Saifuddin had said that it was mulling depositing the targeted fuel subsidy directly into the bank accounts of the B40 recipients.