Ministry to monitor petrol stations to ensure ‘weekly float’ compliance
KUCHING: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Sarawak will monitor all petrol stations in Sarawak to ensure compliance with the weekly float system, which makes its return beginning Jan 1, 2019.
Its deputy director and chief enforcement officer Mohd Nawawi Abdul Rahman said this was to ensure there is would be boycott elements by the station operators.
He also said this was to ensure there would be enough supply of fuel for motorists.
“We will start to do the monitoring once the year changes to 2019,” he said.
He was asked to comment on talks that station operators might boycott the weekly float system as they had been put in a fix if fuel prices fluctuated weekly.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced recently that the government would be returning to a weekly float for RON95 petrol price starting Jan 1 to allow consumers to benefit faster from reductions in fuel prices.
After the May 9 general election, the price of RON 95 was fixed at RM2.20 per litre, while that of Euro 2M diesel is RM2.18 and Euro 5 diesel RM2.28.
The price of RON 97 was floating according to market price from June 7, initially adjusting on a weekly basis, but later on a monthly basis.
It was also reported recently that the ministry in Putrajaya had issued notices to station operators to comply with the new system and not to come up with any move that could cause panic and confusion among consumers.
The ministry’s special operations branch deputy director Datuk Iskandar Halim Sulaiman was quoted as saying that it was crucial for stations to comply and provide sufficient amount of fuel because Jan 2 would be the start of schooling year and there would be many motorists on the roads.
It is an offence under Regulation 21 of the Control and Supply Regulation 1974 and punishable under Section 22 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961for the station operators’ failure to comply with any of the conditions.