JOHOR BAHRU, July 30 — Authorities here will revoke the business licence of any car wash operator found to be rejecting local customers in favour of Singaporean vehicle owners, Mayor Datuk Mohd Haffiz Ahmad warned today.

His statement comes in response to a state government directive, issued after a social media post went viral alleging that a car wash in the city was exclusively catering to vehicles from Singapore.

Speaking to reporters after chairing a full Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) meeting, Mohd Haffiz said will investigate the allegations but has not received a formal report yet.

“We will continue to monitor this issue and conduct checks, including revoking the car wash operator’s licence if they are found to have rejected local customers in favour of foreign vehicle owners,” he said.

Mohd Haffiz suggested the issue may have arisen from a preference among operators for offering more expensive “premium” services, which are popular with Singaporean customers.

“There are 543 licensed car wash centres under MBJB’s jurisdiction. Most of these operators are known to offer a wash-and-wax service, priced at RM40 and above, over a normal wash,” he explained.

“The claim is that the costlier wash, popular among Singaporeans, brings in more money. So, the car wash operator allegedly rejects local vehicles whose owners only want a normal wash.”

But he reiterated that there was not yet any report of the alleged practice.

The controversy began on Friday when a Facebook post featured a car wash centre in Taman Abad, claiming it only accepted Singapore-registered cars. 

The car wash, reportedly manned by foreign workers, was alleged to have refused requests from local customers, stating they were fully booked by Singaporean clients.

Following the social media backlash, state Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor directed all local authorities to revoke the business licences of any car wash operators found to be refusing service to locals.