PAPAR: Bruneians who drive to Kota Kinabalu from Bandar Seri Begawan can buy Ron97 fuel at the Kimanis Petronas fuel station effective May 1, 2025.
This follows discussions between Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) and Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB) on Bruneian complaints about non-availability of Ron97 along the trunk road.
Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said KPDN and PDB agreed to implement a pilot test by putting up a Mini Portable Container System (PCS) at the Petronas Kimanis station with a fuel capacity of 5,000 litres.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});He said Ron97 is being sold at RM3.18 per litre for Bruneians whose vehicles must bear Brunei Darussalam registration numbers.
“The main issue faced by the Bruneians and visitors is that current policy only allows foreign vehicles to refuel with Ron97 petrol, a non-subsidised fuel sold at market price per litre.
“In fact, Customs Department records show 156,000 vehicles registered in Brunei Darussalam entered Malaysia in 2023 and 2024.
“Hence, KPDN has taken appropriate steps to ensure non-availability of Ron97 does not affect number of tourists and visitors from Brunei from coming to Sabah, while ensuring Ron97 is available for local residents.
“Through discussions with PDB, we agreed to carry out a pilot test of PCS to supply the Ron97 petrol at Kimanis Petronas station for a period of six months to see its effectiveness.”
Armizan earlier launched the pilot test of Mini Portable Container System that runs as a pump machine for RON97 fuel at Kimanis Petronas fuel station.
Present were KPDN Director-General Datuk Azman Adam and PDB Chief Operating Officer Azureen Azita Abdullah, among others.
Out of 260 kiosks across Sabah, only 37 supply Ron97 fuel. Many do not sell Ron97 fuel due to low demand, which leads to cost losses.
Armizan said the six months trial would allow detailed monitoring and analysis of operational aspects, including supply stability, customer demand patterns, and delivery logistics needs, to ensure more efficient, sustainable and profitable implementation in the long term.
Meanwhile, Armizan said KPDN implemented a Monitoring Log Record mechanism involving petrol stations in Sabah, Sarawak, and the FT of Labuan, starting Jan. 1, 2025.
“This mechanism involves regular monitoring by KPDN enforcement personnel on the ground, as decided during the Coordination Meeting on Enforcement to Address Issues of Leakages in Controlled Goods in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan held on Dec. 14, 2024.
“The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister II, Dato’ Sri FadillahYusof, who is also Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra),” he said while adding that the monitoring covers a total of 538 petrol stations in Sabah, Sarawak, and FT Labuan.
