JOHOR: Another day, another driver of a vehicle with a number plate from Singapore was seen in a video helping himself to RON95 fuel in Johor.
This is said to have taken place at a Caltex station at Jalan Kampung Lalang in Iskandar Puteri on January 26 at around 3 pm.
The picture of the driver of a white Honda Spada with a Singapore-registered plate was posted on SG Road Vigilante’s Facebook page on February 1, and a video of the incident was posted as well.
They show that the man was filling up his vehicle from the telltale yellow nozzle that showed it was RON95 petrol. He legally could have availed of RON97 premium petrol from a green nozzle, which is more expensive than RON95 but still cheaper than its counterpart in Singapore.
The man, who is youngish, bespectacled, and dressed in a grey t-shirt and dark shorts, can be seen looking back in the direction of the people who were filming him, as if aware of his wrongdoing.
Because it is heavily subsidised by the government, only Malaysians are allowed to purchase RON95 fuel. However, because it is perhaps a third of the price of the equivalent fuel in Singapore, non-Malaysians have been known to try to buy it.
At present, only the operators of file stations are penalised for selling RON95 fuel to foreigners, but this is about to change.
The posts of the photo and video have since gone viral, with Facebook users calling out the man, whose face and number plate can be clearly seen, for doing something against Malaysian law.
“Once again… the same type, same species,” one wrote.
Another called him a “typical cheapo fuel pirate.”
Others jokingly asked where the black tape was for covering parts of his number plate, just like a Singapore Permanent Resident did last month.
“Why you didn’t cover with black tape??” a Facebook user asked.
“Did he run out of black tape??” jeered one.
“He should have covered his number plate also,” wrote another.
“He forgot to put the black tape,” joked a third.
Many Malaysians have felt that the law is unfair for only penalising fuel station operators and have called for the foreigners who buy RON95 to be penalised as well.
On January 28, Bernama reported that the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) is now drafting new regulations to penalise the drivers of foreign-registered vehicles who buy RON95 fuel, especially since some Singaporeans have acted like they are entitled to it as well.
According to Armizan Mohd Ali, who heads the ministry, the regulations will strengthen control over the distribution of RON95. The new regulations are scheduled to begin implementation on April 1. /TISG
