IPOH, Dec 28 — Perak petrol station owners who refuse to sell fuel in these last two days of the year risk being taken to court and seeing their premises closed, the state Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry warned today.
At least two petrol stations in the Klang Valley were yesterday reported to have locked their pumps following the government’s decision to lower the price of RON95 petrol from January 1, 2019 due to cheaper crude oil prices worldwide.
“Any station found to boycott selling petrol will be sealed and its owners hauled to court where hefty fines await them,” Shamsul Nizam Khalil told reporters after an inspection at the Petron petrol station at Jalan Raja Musa Mahadi here.
The ministry’s state enforcement chief said checks at 13 out of Perak’s 371 petrol stations showed that there was more than enough stock for sale; with 358,576 litres of RON95 petrol, 105,365 litres of RON97 and 242,307 litres of diesel recorded.
“The supply in stock is enough to cater to the demand of motorists,” he added.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced on December 24 that the price of RON95 petrol would be cheaper from next Tuesday due to plunging global crude oil prices.
He added that the government will reintroduce the weekly float price cap for RON95 at the same time.
In response, the Bumiputera Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia said there may be a shortage because petrol station operators were refusing to top up their supply as they wait for the lower fuel prices to kick in from New Year’s Day.
