For my best pals who drive in regularly to JB for 90cents petrol per litre

Border towns: No petrol sales to foreign cars
By SIM LEOI LEOI and MEERA VIJAYAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Petrol stations located in border states like Johor and Perlis will be barred from selling petrol and diesel to foreign-registered cars starting Friday.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said the move, aimed at plugging loopholes in the current subsidy system, was decided during an anti-inflation committee meeting yesterday.

The ban will involve between 200 and 300 petrol stations in Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Perak and the Johor Baru and Kulai areas in Johor.

Currently, petrol stations are not allowed to sell more then 20 litres of petrol to foreign vehicles.

"This move is temporary until we come up with better management of our subsidy system," he told reporters.

At present, Shahrir said too many foreign-registered cars, particularly those from neighbouring countries, had been crossing into Malaysia to take advantage of the lower fuel and diesel prices.

"I have been instructed to use my power under the Control of Supply Act to direct and ban the sale of subsidised fuel to these foreign cars. This applies to petrol stations located as far as 50km from the border," he said.

Besides the northern states and the Johor Baru and Kulai areas of Johor, Shahrir said he was also studying if the ban should include petrol stations in Pontian.

He said the petrol stations would be notified by the ministry to adhere to the move.

Shahrir said that besides putting up signboards informing motorists of this new ruling, enforcement officers would also be stationed at the petrol stations to ensure businesses complied with the ruling.

"I will inform my officers about this latest decision and it will take effect by Friday or the latest Monday," he said.

Shahrir said those caught flouting the ruling could be fined up to RM250,000.

However, he said foreign-registered vehicles which entered the country for tourism purposes could still fill up their tanks in places like Penang and Malacca where the ban would not apply.

"They should enter the country with full tanks and they have to plan their journey," he said.

In Johor Baru, petrol station owners and managers were shocked with the announcement.

Petrol dealer Andy Wong said such a decision had huge implications on petrol station owners as a large number of stations situated near the Causeway depended heavily on their Singaporean clientele.

"If it is within 50km, then the whole of Johor Baru is affected," he said when met at his station last night.

Other petrol station owners said they were awaiting more information.

One petrol station manager, whose station services hundreds of Singapore-registered vehicles daily, said: "So far, talks have only been about petrol subsidies. This has never been spoken about."

He said petrol station owners had not been consulted about the matter.

KUALA LUMPUR - FOREIGN-REGISTERED vehicles from Singapore and Thailand will not be allowed to buy petrol or diesel at stations within 50km of Malaysian borders, from as early as this Friday.

The new ruling is intended to prevent foreign vehicles from entering Malaysia to buy the heavily-subsidised fuel.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad told The Straits Times that there would be no restriction on purchase of fuel from stations outside the designated zone.

'This will come into force on Friday, or at the latest (next) Monday,' he said.

He said the problem is mainly caused by Thai-registered vehicles that come into Malaysia just to top up fuel, but the government has decided to extend it to Singapore-registered ones as well.

He does not have data on the number of vehicles or amount of fuel sold to these vehicles, but the leakage was a 'serious problem'.

Written directives will be issued to 300 petrol kiosks in the designated zone not to let foreign vehicles fill up, he said.

The penalty for station owners who flout the rule is a fine of up to RM250,000 (S$108,000) or a jail term of three years.

Malaysia subsidises its fuel heavily, to the tune of RM40 billion last year.

The government is moving cautiously to roll back subsidies for fear of political repercussions as the cost of living soars. The move against foreign vehicles is a way to cut its subsidy bill without affecting Malaysians.

Mr Shahrir said this was an interim measure while the government looked into ways to reform its subsidy mechanism.

He said the move was 'not targeted at tourists or those who are genuinely visiting Malaysia. If they drive from Singapore to Penang, they can buy fuel at any station outside the 50km radius from the border,' he said.

The move would affect Singaporeans like Mr Edwin Ngin Kuan Wee, who drives twice a week from his home in Telok Blangah to Johor Baru during weekdays, just to top up the tank.

Even with the three-quarter-tank rule imposed by the Republic on Singapore cars, he manages to save on each trip in his Toyota Celica.

He fills up a quarter of the tank, about 26 litres, each time in JB at RM1.92 a litre, or a total of $21.10.

In Singapore, the same amount would cost him $54.60 at $2.10 a litre, saving him $33.50.

'I am not sure it will be worthwhile for me to drive 50km into Johor for petrol,' said the 26-year-old sales engineer.

Said transport executive Faisal Hassan, 28, who drives to JB weekly for shopping and dining: 'I would not want to travel 50km away from the border for safety reasons and there are no prominent shopping centres I know of.'

A drive of 50km from the Causeway would roughly take you near Desaru or Kota Tinggi, or if you are travelling on the North-South Expressway, near Sedenak, he said.