Since time immemorial, Malaysia has had to deal with the never-ending issue of foreign-registered vehicles pumping RON95 petrol, which is only meant for Malaysian-registered cars.
In light of this, an MP has suggested a strong measure to be take against such offenders in order to protect subsidised goods from being “stolen” by outsiders, as well as send a stern message.
Cited viral RON95 incident
Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (Jan 21), Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah cited the viral incident of a Singaporean PR (permanent resident) who was caught taping certain letters of his car number plate so he could pump RON95.
In the end, the driver was fined RM9,000 by the court after he pleaded guilty to tampering with his car registration plate.
Puah said the incident had left Malaysians nationwide feeling enraged, including himself.
There are people willing to do things like this for the sake of pumping our RON95 petrol. In truth, even our RON97 is considered cheap for vehicles from Singapore.
“The price of RON98 in Singapore is S$2.88, or about RM9.08. Whereas, RON97 in Malaysia is RM3.08 per litre. This means that the difference is three times cheaper in Malaysia in regard to the better quality petrol,” he added.
Puah also said prohibiting foreigners from using RON95 wasn’t “discriminatory” as the rule applies to Malaysians who own foreign-registered vehicles too.
‘Ban such vehicles for 2 years’
Puah called for harsher penalties to be placed on owners of foreign-registered vehicles instead of just holding petrol station operators accountable.
“I hope the government will consider amending the law to punish such individuals and blacklist the vehicle from entering Malaysia for at least two years. The responsibility of complying to Malaysian laws should be shouldered by all parties.
“Signages must also be placed at Malaysian entry points that state that foreign vehicles are not allowed to pump RON95 petrol as a final warning as the vehicles enter the country,” he said.
Watch Puah’s comments from the 2:42:45 mark here:
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