Last Updated on 2023-03-29 , 10:38 am
Petrol in Singapore is expensive— pumping a full tank of RON97 is 41% cheaper than a full tank of 95 Octane in Singapore.
Malaysian petrol is even cheaper if you take into account RON95, which usually costs around S$0.66 per litre, since the government heavily subsidises it. Sadly, though, it’s only available for Malaysian-registered vehicles.
However, that doesn’t seem to faze some Singaporeans—recently, a clip of a man with a Singapore-registered vehicle pumping RON95 in JB went viral.
What Happened?
The clip opens right in the middle of action, with a man in a white shirt saying, “cannot?” while screwing the lid of the petrol compartment shut. His car plate shows that his car is Singapore-registered.
He had filled it with RON95 petrol, dispensed from yellow petrol pumps at gas stations in Malaysia.
An incensed female voice behind him replies, “no, cannot”, but he disregards this, instead saying, “even though I’m Malaysian also cannot?”
She cuts him off in the middle of this with another loud “no” and explains that it “doesn’t matter” because he’s using a Singapore car.
Seemingly unfazed, he simply replies “okay”, and she continues on her tirade.
“If you said you are Malaysian, you should know,” she insists, and he counters this by telling her that he was apparently allowed to do it in Melaka and KL.
Vexed, she tells him, “no, cannot” again, and the video ends as he walks away, probably not wanting to engage further.
What Did He Do Wrong?
Since August 2010, selling RON95 to foreigners and foreign vehicles has been illegal.
Since it’s heavily subsidised by the government, it’s reserved only for Malaysia-registered vehicles. Foreign vehicles are expected to refuel with the pricier RON97 and RON100 instead.
Providing it is actually an offence, which incurs a fine of up to RM 2 million, or around S$602,000.
So in this case, the woman is right—what he’s doing is illegal, and even if he’s Malaysian, he’s still not allowed to use the RON95 petrol to refuel his Singapore-registered car.
Is This Really A Problem?
Since the border opened in March 2022, Singaporeans have been flocking to Malaysia in search of cheaper things, and petrol is no exception.
This is not an isolated case—in fact, it’s enough of a problem that former Prime Minister Najib Razak made a Facebook post expressing his displeasure about it.
In his post in Malay on 22 April 2022, he shared a viral photo of a man using the bright yellow RON95 pump to refuel a car with a Singaporean plate.
“Petrol RON95 is a controlled material because it is highly subsidised,” he wrote. “Selling RON95 to foreigners violates the Government Supply Control Act.”
Even without RON95, petrol is still cheaper in Malaysia than in Singapore.
Right after borders opened, a Singaporean driver was spotted refuelling his Singapore-registered car at a Malaysian gas station.
The picture, which has garnered 6.1k likes on Facebook, has a caption that reads, “Welcome back to Malaysia to pump petrol.”
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