SINGAPORE: Non-Malaysians have not been allowed to buy RON 95 petrol in the country since 2010, although some still appear to try to get away with it. Only Malaysians are permitted under the law to buy the heavily subsidised fuel, but foreigners are sometimes tempted by its lower price.
The latest example of this was shown in a video on the DashCam Owners Malaysia Facebook group on Tuesday (Apr 8), where the driver of a BMW was seen trying to buy RON 95 petrol at a fuel station in Tebrau, Johor Bahru. In the video posted by a user on the platform named Abdul Majid Abd Rahman, who wrote in a comment that the owner of the video allowed him to do so, a middle-aged man in a white shirt and light blue jeans can be seen having pulled up next to a fuel pump.
The license plate of his dark grey BMW can be clearly seen. Click the image below to watch the video:
As he is being filmed getting fuel using a telltale yellow fuel nozzle, which is used for RON95 petrol, an attendant from the fuel station comes over to him. The attendant stops him from getting petrol and removes the nozzle from the man’s vehicle. He then proceeds to return the nozzle back to its holder and speaks to the man in the white shirt.
It should come as no surprise that the attendant moved quickly to stop the BMW driver, given that the owners of petrol stations may be fined as much as RM1 million (S$305,000) or be sent to jail for as long as three years for selling subsidised fuel to non-Malaysians.
Commenters on the post have slammed the BMW driver, with one writing, “Talk about developed countries that condemn Malaysia… but enter Malaysia and there become a beggar using subsidized fuel.”
When others guessed that the car owner may be a Malaysian citizen, some commented that this is not the point, as foreign-registered vehicles cannot fill up with RON 95 fuel no matter who their driver is.
Another called for stricter regulations, writing, “That’s why it’s important to strengthen the VEP. If there’s evidence like this, the owner of this sports vehicle can be fined 1k. They can be detained at the Checkpoint and asked to pay the fine first; then, they can get out. If in Singapore, we have to pay a fine before leaving, why can’t Malaysia do the same?”
Concerns have been raised over the issue for some years now; however, it is due to perceived unfairness. While the owners of petrol stations may be subject to fines or jail time, there is no corresponding punishment for foreigners who get caught buying RON95 fuel.
Some have called for the government to introduce laws that specifically penalise foreigners who buy subsidised fuel, arguing that as long as there are no real penalties, the problem will continue.
“As long as the buyers are not penalised, they will always keep trying,” said Gordon Lim, the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) communication and media secretary, earlier this year. /TISG
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