Johor deploys 200 officers to crack down on sale of subsidised RON95 fuel to foreign vehicles during Chinese New Year

Johor will be stepping up enforcement measures to curb the sale of subsidised RON95 petrol to foreign-registered vehicles during the upcoming festive season, said a government official.
Two hundred enforcement officers from the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s division in Johor will be deployed to conduct frequent checks at petrol kiosks across the state, particularly kiosks near the Johor-Singapore Causeway and Second Link, said the division's director Lilis Saslinda Pornomo.
This is as Malaysia anticipates thousands of Singapore-registered vehicles to enter Johor for Chinese New Year celebrations, local media quoted her as saying. The RON95 fuel type is
The Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme is meant to control maximum prices of specific goods during festive periods to ensure affordable access to essential items.
Lilis made the remarks following a viral incident on Jan 21 involving a woman driving a Singapore-registered vehicle who was caught allegedly refuelling with subsidised RON95 petrol at Taman Pelangi in Johor Bahru.
A 12-second video of the incident had gone viral on social media, prompting the ministry to investigate.
“We have evidence showing that the woman managed to refuel less than one litre, worth about RM1, before being stopped. She then refueled with RON97, which is designated for foreign-registered vehicles in Malaysia” Lilis was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times, adding that the vehicle owner had earlier made the payment using a debit card.
Lilis also praised the petrol station staff, who stopped the woman, for ensuring that subsidised petrol products designated for locals were not misappropriated, Bernama reported.
Since 2010, the sale of subsidised petrol to foreign-registered vehicles is an offence under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and petrol kiosk operators found guilty of breaching this law risked fines of up to RM1 million (US$228,425) for the first offence and up to RM3 million or a jail time for up to three years, or both, for subsequent offences.
However, on Jan 15 last year, Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Armizan Mohd Ali said that fuel station operators found guilty for the first time could receive fines exceeding the RM1 million limit, adding further pressure to the industry.
When asked about suggestions for foreign-registered vehicles to use cash instead of credit or debit cards to avoid similar incidents of misusing RON95 petrol, Lilis clarified that there was no directive yet.
“The primary responsibility lies with petrol station owners, they must take action to ensure no foreign-registered vehicles refuel with RON95, including assigning staff to prevent such incidents, especially during the festive season,” she said on Saturday.
Petrol stations in Malaysia are largely self-service. Motorists are able to swipe their credit cards at the kiosks and fuel up petrol into their own vehicles by inserting the nozzles themselves.
Currently, there is no law saying that fines will be imposed on errant motorists.
In June last year, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s Johor division also mobilised 187 enforcement officers across the state to monitor the targeted diesel subsidy implementation.
Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan had announced that the retail price of diesel at all pumps in Peninsular Malaysia would be set at RM3.35 per litre, the market price based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism formula.