SUNGAI PETANI: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is looking at the possibility of stationing enforcement officers at fuel stations located in towns along the Malaysia-Thailand border to stem subsidised RON95 petrol smuggling activities.

Its enforcement director-general Datuk Azman Adam said the focus would be fuel stations which have recorded a sudden jump in RON95 sales volume since the government implemented the targeted diesel subsidy move two months ago.

"We are not ruling out the possibility of stationing officers at the fuel stations concerned to monitor the (RON95) sales," he told reporters after presenting the ministry's Supply Controller's Instruction to 375 fuel station operators in the state at MPSPK Tower.

Present was Kedah ministry director Muhammad Nizam Jamaludin.

The Supply Controller's Instruction is issued based on Regulation 12A of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974, prohibiting the repeated sale of diesel and RON95 petrol on the same day to vehicles, whether they are registered in Malaysia or abroad.

Azman said the ministry will scrutinise the sales records of fuel stations which are believed to have been targeted by smuggling syndicates.

"We are not just emphasising the responsibilities of fuel station operators but also the fuel companies, so that we can work together to monitor every single litre of government-subsidised petrol being sold to consumers," he said.

On Monday, the New Straits Times reported that RON95 petrol quota supplies in Malaysia-Thailand border towns in Kedah and Perlis were running out much earlier than usual in recent months.

This was taken as a sign that fuel smuggling syndicates had shifted their focus to RON95 following the government move to implement targeted diesel subsidies effective June 10.

The move saw the retail diesel price at fuel stations jump from RM2.15 to RM3.50 per litre, making it less profitable for smugglers.

Syndicate runners are said to have since switched to subsidised RON95 petrol, which retails at RM2.05 per litre, as opposed to the retail pump price in Thailand currently being sold at 37.35 Thai bhatt or RM4.70 per litre.

Azman said the ministry was aware that the smugglers were jumping from one fuel station to another located in the border towns to source the subsidised petrol.

"We have expected the situation, and we have officers on the ground carrying out intelligence.

"No matter how good they are, they will be caught eventually. So, my advice to them is, just, stop it.

"We are also being assisted by other government agencies in monitoring situations on the ground.

"In fact, consumers are more active in feeding information and since early this year, we have received over 20,000 complaints from the public," he said.

Azman stressed that the ministry was committed to ensuring that eligible consumers living in border towns are not denied access to subsidised petrol supplies.

"We are looking at the whole ecosystem. Our focus is to make sure genuine consumers will get the petrol supply. We are continuously improving the enforcement mechanism under Op Tiris 3.0, and we will announce them from time to time," he said.

Azman added that between Jan 1 and Aug 3 this year, the ministry had carried out 26,669 inspections nationwide.

"From the total, actions have been taken in 1,798 cases which involved a combined seizure value of RM71 million, and 446 arrests were made.

"Between Jan 20 and Aug 3, a total of 39,545 vehicles have been inspected in the country's border checkpoints and eight cases (of smuggling) have been reported," he said.

Azman issued a warning against any person or company getting caught carrying out repeated diesel and RON95 petrol sales to the same vehicles that they could be fined up to RM1 million under the Supply Control Act 1961.

He also reminded fuel station operators of the risk of having their licence suspended or revoked should they fail to comply with the Supply Controller's Instruction.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/1088013/ministry-mulls-stationing-enforcement-officers-fuel-stations-targeted