Johor is calling on Putrajaya to close a loophole that lets foreign motorists caught pumping subsidised RON95 petrol off the hook while station owners take the heat.
State Investment, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources committee chairman Lee Ting Han said the state flagged the issue to the federal government four months ago, but recent cases show it’s time to act.
“Right now, only petrol station operators can be penalised. That’s not enough. Enforcement officers should also be able to go straight after the offenders,” Lee said. The reminder comes after two recent incidents in Johor, one in Nusa Sentral, Iskandar Puteri, and another along the Senai-Desaru Expressway where foreign-registered cars were spotted filling up with RON95.
“In both cases, the Johor Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry opened investigations, reviewing CCTV footage from the stations. Once complete, we’ll hand the files to the deputy public prosecutors,” he affirmed. One of the cases lit up social media after a photo surfaced of a man with a Singapore-registered vehicle filling a plastic container with RON95 after already topping up his tank.
Days later, another image made the rounds showing a different Singapore car fuelling up with the subsidised petrol along the SDE. Lee said the problem is far from rare and needs stronger deterrents.
“If we keep the rules as they are, the real culprits get away and our enforcement only ends up punishing station owners,” he concluded.
