New petrol price mechanism will be win-win – minister

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism will come up with a new formula soon regarding the weekly petrol price mechanism.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said the ministry was engaged in talks with the Ministry of Finance and petrol kiosk operators to ensure a win-win situation.

“The declining price of oil in recent weeks have put them (petrol kiosk operators) under pressure. I have been talking with Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani and the operators.

“Insya Allah, by next week, we will have something for everyone. We will ensure that the method will help the people and at the same time shows that the industry can be liberalised.

“Maybe in the future, we can do it (petrol price fixing) on a daily basis,” he said during the Aidilfitri celebration organised by Malaysia Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO) yesterday.

The government announced the weekly petrol and diesel prices on March 29. The new prices are announced every Wednesday and are effective after midnight.

The mechanism allows consumers to enjoy a more stable fuel retail price compared to monthly pricing. As of this week, the price per litre has been set at RM1.89 for RON95, RM2.15 for RON97 and RM1.84 for diesel.- Bernama