PETALING JAYA: Immediate action has been taken to investigate claims on the amount of fuel dispensed under the targeted Budi95 subsidy being “less” than sought, says the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
The ministry’s enforcement director-general Datuk Azman Adam said minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali had ordered a probe to ensure the issue is examined transparently and consumers’ rights are protected.
“Arising from the feedback, we have taken immediate action to investigate the claims thoroughly,” he said.
Investigations include inspections of the fuel pumps and sales records, and queries so far did not indicate any violations of laws enforced by the ministry.
“Continuous monitoring, including drawing samples at random, and inspection of dispensing accuracy, is ongoing,” he added.
Azman said the ministry has so far received six complaints on the matter.
“There have been no complaints about inferior fuel quality,” he said, reiterating that the ministry views allegations of shortcomings seriously – whether they are about fuel quantity or quality.
The director-general warned that companies found guilty under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 could face fines of up to RM250,000, or RM500,000 for repeat offences, while individuals could be fined up to RM100,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.
Those with information or complaints can report via WhatsApp at 019-848 8000, the hotline 1-800-886-800, email eaduan@kpdn.gov.my or the Ez ADU KPDN smartphone app.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry said a total of 16.65 million Malaysians have used subsidised RON95 petrol at the price of RM1.99 a litre since Sept 30, surpassing initial expectations of 15 million.
Up to Oct 31, 13.1 million of them have spent up to RM2.66bil in the first month of Budi95 to buy 1.33 billion litres of subsidised RON95, including 23,000 fishermen and boat owners who do not have active driving licences, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said on average, individual Budi95 recipients have used 98.2 litres per person for October, far lower than their entitlement of 300 litres.
As of Oct 26, less than 0.7% of the recipients have exhausted their allocation before the end of the month.
He added that the government will continue to fine-tune the implementation of the subsidy mechanism, including studying the requirements of the e-hailing sector so that the assistance is more balanced.
“The Finance Ministry has also identified several abnormal consumption patterns, including recipients that exhausted their entire monthly allocation very quickly, as well as repeated purchases of fuel near the country’s border areas.
“In relation to this, the government will beef up its surveillance of these fuel stations and users to ensure the subsidy is not abused,” he said.
