M'sia govt looking to ban foreign vehicles pumping RON95 petrol

Malaysia might look to prohibit foreign-registered vehicles from purchasing subsidised RON95 petrol from Apr. 1, as the government moves to tighten enforcement and curb ongoing fuel subsidy leakages.

Domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali said the government is drafting new regulations under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 to explicitly ban not just the sale, but also the purchase of RON95 petrol by foreign vehicles nationwide.

New rules

Under existing regulations, specifically Regulation 12A of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974, enforcement action can currently only be taken against petrol station operators who sell RON95 to foreign-registered vehicles, not against the vehicle owners themselves.

Armizan said the new rules would close that gap by allowing legal action to be taken against both petrol station operators and individuals who buy or use subsidised RON95 despite driving foreign-registered vehicles.

He said during a question-and-answer session, as cited by Bernama:

“Through the new regulations that we are drafting, the prohibition will apply not only to sales but also to purchases.”

The move comes amid continued concerns over subsidy leakages, particularly in border areas, despite the rollout of the BUDI95 fuel subsidy targeting scheme.

Responding to a supplementary question, Armizan said leakages were still occurring under the Essential Goods Distribution Programme and at petrol stations near Malaysia’s borders.

How enforcement will work

To strengthen monitoring, the ministry will rely on data analytics to track RON95 and diesel sales patterns at petrol stations, particularly along border regions.

This includes identifying repeated purchases using MyKad records, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.

Additional enforcement measures will also include periodic inspections at petrol stations, a ban on fuel purchases exceeding 20 litres outside vehicle tanks without a special permit and mandatory logbooks and visit records at border-area petrol stations.

Armizan added that the ministry would continue to strengthen monitoring and enforcement efforts to ensure fuel subsidies reach their intended beneficiaries, including through nationwide operations and technological enhancements to combat manipulation and leakage.

Foreign vehicles caught pumping RON95

The stricter stance follows recent cases involving foreign vehicles caught illegally pumping subsidised RON95 petrol.

In one incident, a Singapore-registered car was found to have an altered licence plate allegedly used to purchase subsidised fuel at a Malaysian petrol station.

The issue has also sparked calls for harsher penalties.

A Malaysian MP recently suggested that foreign vehicles caught illegally purchasing RON95 should be blacklisted and barred from entering Malaysia for up to two years, as a deterrent against subsidy abuse.

Top images via China Press, @lokaltrends/TikTok, ahhong896/Instagram