UPDATE - Ban of petrol sale to foreign vehicles officially lifted!

Ban has been lifted, but petrol prices are increased per liter across the Causeway

OneShift Editorial Team

06 Jun 2008

The government has banned all petrol stations within 30km to 50km from the Malaysia-Thailand border, and the Malaysia-Singapore border from selling fuel to foreign cars beginning this Friday, 30th May 2008 onwards. This would include all petrol stations in Perlis, Kedah, North Perak, Kelantan, and several Johor districts.

Offending petrol station owners would be fined up to RM250,000 or jailed 3 years, or both.

In a separate report, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said that the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) has suggested petrol subsidies to be given out based on engine size - and this is something his department is considering.

This ban is only temporary, until a permanent solution is introduced to prevent fuel subsidies from being enjoyed by those who are not intended to receive them.

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[U][I][B]Update as of 06/06/08 -[/B][/I][/U]

Malaysia's Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs has lifted the ban on foreign cars refilling their fuel tanks at petrol stations 50km from the country’s Thailand and Singapore borders. Foreign cars can now refuel as they wish.

However, the prices of petrol across the Causeway has increased -

[B]RON97 Petrol - RM2.704 per liter [I](previously RM$1.92 per liter)[/I]
RON92 Petrol - RM2.62 per liter [I](previously RM$1.88 per liter)[/I]
Diesel - RM2.581 per liter [I](previously RM$1.58 per liter)[/I][/B]

The new price of RM2.704 includes a RM$0.30 government subsidy, so it is reduced from what the Malaysian Prime Minister says "is a market price of RM$3.00 per liter". The RM$0.30 subsidy will be a fixed amount of subsidy that will subsidise the market rate.

The market rate will be reviewed every month.

These changes are only temporary, as according to Datuk Shahrir Samad, this will only be step one in the final plan in restructuring the way consumers purchase fuel in the country. These prices are still controlled prices - future prices will be a floating market rate that is not capped by the government.

The Malaysian government is planning on moving towards the abolishment of fuel subsidies in the future.