Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

To clamp down on foreigners buying cheaper subsidised fuel in Johor, Malaysia's Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is working to identify a suitable location to expand the unsubsidised petrol scheme, Malaysian media The Star reported on Jun. 24.

Prior to this, the country had warned petrol station operators against selling subsidised petrol to foreign-registered vehicles.

Responding to reporters after an e-learning programme launch, Minister Salahuddin Ayub said a pilot project of the programme had already been implemented under the Border Economy programme in Padang Besar and Wang Kelian, Perlis.

Since the implementation of the project in February, the government has saved almost RM6 million (approximately S$1.7 million) in fuel subsidies, Salahuddin added.

The Malaysian government has been trying to reduce the cases of subsidised RON95 fuel being sold to foreigners in Johor.

Fuel prices

The price of subsidised RON95 petrol was set at RM2.05 (S$0.59) from Jun. 22 to Jun. 28.

The subsidised fuel is supposed to be sold exclusively to Malaysian motorists.

Unsubsidised fuel, as part of the pilot programme in Perlis, was sold to foreigners at a price of RM3.22 (S$0.93) per litre.

Unsubsidised RON97 petrol was priced at RM3.37 (S$0.98) per litre, and can be purchased by motorists with foreign-registered vehicles.

In Singapore, grade 95 petrol is sold at around S$2.75 per litre, according to Motorist.sg.

Grade 98 petrol is sold at S$3.22 per litre.

Two men previously confronted for pumping fuel in jerry can

Two men from Singapore were filmed by a delivery rider at a petrol station in Malaysia.

They were allegedly seen pumping petrol into a jerry can.

The incident allegedly occurred on Jun. 16, and captured the two Singapore men engaging in a verbal dispute with the delivery rider.

Salahuddin was asked to comment on the incident by reporters.

“The government is very clear in its policy that RON95 should only be sold to locals as it is one of the subsidised items in the country. Any petrol station owner or foreign individual who is caught violating this policy will face legal action,” he said.

“However, I was informed that based on CCTV footage, the Singaporean in the video did not get the chance to purchase the RON95 fuel,” he said, adding that the full report of the incident would be given to him on Monday.

Meanwhile, Johor police issued a statement on Facebook confirming the incident.

On Jun. 23, Johor police issued a follow-up statement, stating that they were looking for the two Singapore men involved.

Pilot project in final stages

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi previously said the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry was in the final stages of increasing the number of petrol stations at the country's border to combat leakages in the sale of subsidised diesel, Malaysian media Free Malaysia Today reported.

The states mentioned were Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Sabah, and Sarawak, as well as Johor.

Top photo via Google Maps