Seven complaints of subsidised petrol abuse so far, says Domestic Trade Ministry

PUTRAJAYA: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has received seven complaints on the alleged misappropriation of RON95 subsidised petrol involving foreign-registered vehicles since the reopening of the country's borders on April 1.

The ministry's Enforcement director Azman Adam said all the cases were reported in Johor and two petrol stations were currently being investigated.

"We are finalising the investigation,” he said in a press conference here Tuesday (April 5) when asked to comment on viral video clips of vehicles with foreign registration numbers filling petrol using yellow nozzles suspected to be RON95.

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.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri 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 Azman who also called on consumers to channel complaints directly to the ministry if they come across such incidents.

Meanwhile, commenting on the issue of unstable chicken prices in some places, Azman said it should not have happened because the chicken price remained at RM8.90 per kg for now.

"When there is a set pricing, it must be adhered to. For every pricing implemented, we have given an appropriate margin on each profit. Hence, there should be no issue of saying wholesalers do not have enough margin and so on,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Jan 31 announced that the government had set the maximum retail price for standard chicken at RM8.90 per kg, effective from Feb 5 to June 5, 2022. - Bernama