WAS it some weakness in the supply chain or unscrupulous businesses trying to cash in on our heavily subsidised RON95 petrol? News of contaminated petrol in some northern states in the peninsula and the damage it caused to motor engines has been widely reported.
The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia pointed out that it was counter-intuitive for petrol station owners to adulterate their petrol.
“Such actions offer no economic benefit to operators. Instead, they could undermine customer confidence and hurt their businesses,” it said. The association has welcomed the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s investigation into the wider fuel supply chain.
Investigating authorities must establish whether the incidents are isolated cases of poor maintenance of underground storage tanks or weaknesses further up the supply chain.
Their investigations must not drag on indefinitely.
Laboratory testing is undoubtedly important but there should be a clear timeline for results, regular public updates and prompt disclosure of findings. If contamination is indeed proven, those responsible must face firm action.
This should include examining the accountability of petrol station operators, fuel suppliers and other parties involved in the storage, transportation and distribution of the fuel.
Enforcement action cannot just stop at the retail level if the problem lies elsewhere. Equally important is consumer protection.
Motorists whose engines were damaged by contaminated petrol deserve a clear, hassle-free avenue for compensation.
Petrol companies and station operators also have a clear interest in seeing the matter resolved as speedily as possible.
The authorities should also consider more frequent and random inspections, stricter maintenance requirements for underground storage tanks and a more robust monitoring of fuel quality at different levels of the distribution process.
There have even been reports of the problem spreading south to Selangor, where authorities inspected a petrol station in Sungai Buloh and collected fuel samples for analysis on Oct 19. The results of the analysis, or whether any wrongdoing was uncovered, remain unknown.
There must be greater urgency in getting to the root of this matter. If not, consumer confidence will erode further. RON95 is the choice for most Malaysian motorists and the government subsidises it at a great cost to ease the rising cost of living burdening households.
Unresolved cases of diluted petrol and mounting complaints emerging in other states only aggravate consumer woes.
There must be no complacency in getting to the bottom of the matter as soon as possible.