Sue the foreigners, most of whom are Singaporeans, who fill their automobiles with subsidised petrol in Malaysia.
This is the wish of the Malaysian Petrol Dealers Association. Singaporeans filling their cars with cheaper fuel in Johor has drawn the ire of Malaysian authorities.
In order to make it possible for the authorities to prosecute the foreigners, the group has pushed the government to enact legislation that would make it illegal for foreigners to purchase subsidised RON95 gasoline, which is only available for Malaysians.
Some Singaporeans and Malaysian netizens have also pointed out that Singaporeans in particular, were abusing the law.
They posted videos and photos showing people filling their cars with the RON95 fuel, which is banned for foreigners. The cars they are filling have Singapore number plates.
After Malaysia reopened its borders on April 1, the footage went popular on social media.
Since August 2010, the country has prohibited the selling of RON95 gasoline to foreigners.
Speaking to a local newspaper, the Petrol Dealers Association says, “There is currently no law under which foreigners could be prosecuted for purchasing subsidised petrol in Malaysia. “If foreigners fill 40 litres of RON95, the government will lose RM68 of the people’s money to foreigners,” he said, quoting Najib Razak, who commented on foreigners fuelling their cars with locally subsidised petrol.
The association also proposes a system at gas stations that detects and prohibits the use of foreign-registered credit cards for transactions involving the purchase of RON95 gasoline.
Former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak stated on Facebook that the subsidy for RON95 in Malaysia is around RM1.70 per litre.
“If foreigners fill 40 litres of RON95, the government will lose RM68 of the people’s money to foreigners,” Najib said.
On the other hand, Malaysia has cautioned fuel station owners against selling subsidised gasoline to foreign-registered vehicles.
A minister has threatened fines of up to RM2 million (S$643,000) if the petrol stations are caught selling RON95 to foreigners.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi stated that both fuel firms and petrol station owners near the Singapore border have been informed about the prohibition on the selling of RON95 gasoline to foreign-registered cars on several occasions.
Foreigners are allowed to pump the RON97 in their cars. This type of fuel is priced at RM3.81 at petrol pumps.
The post Sue the Singaporeans breaching the law at pump stations, fuel association say appeared first on The Independent News.