Fuel pumps run dry throughout Sarawak KUCHING: Drivers short on diesel received a rude shock when they stopped to fill up their tanks, only to be met by cardboard signs with the words “No Diesel” at oil stations throughout the state. “It’s so frustrating. I’ve been to every station I can think of in Kuching, and not one of them has diesel,” one disgruntled lorry driver, who only wanted to be known as Chong, related to The Star. “I was running on fumes as I tried to find a station which has some to spare. In the end, I heard from a friend that there was some left, but in limited quantity at this station in Batu Kawa. “As you can see, the queue for diesel is very long. I had to wait half an hour before it was finally my turn. “Why is this happening so often? How am I supposed to do my job when there’s no diesel to run my lorry? I get yelled at by my bosses for being late but it can’t be helped when I can’t even buy fuel,” he said angrily. Apparently Chong is not the only one unhappy about the diesel shortage. Pan-Malaysia Lorry Owners Association president Jong Foh Jit said such problem was unacceptable. “Malaysia is an oil producing country, so why are we facing diesel shortage?” he asked when contacted. “The price gap between commercial and industrial diesel is getting wider all the time, which causes some parties to take advantage of the situation by selling or smuggling subsidised diesel. “The government should come down hard on these sellers, and the law must be enforced so that such shortages can be avoided.” Jong added that he would seek a meeting with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister to discuss what could be done to address the issue. However, the ministry state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman said that the diesel problem should come to an end immediately, thanks to the newly approved quota. He told The Star yesterday that he had just spoken to oil companies Shell and Petronas to reassure them that the much needed diesel was on the way. “A total of 25 stations were hit by the shortage. The problem is nationwide, but a new quota has just been approved for oil companies to have access to more than two million litres of diesel,” he said. “This comes into effect immediately, and should solve the diesel shortage problem in the state.” Asked to comment on the shortages, which have become increasingly more frequent, Ahmad Uzir said that this recent shortage was probably due to the Hari Raya balik kampung rush and also the quota being exceeded due to it being too low. The state director has said before that unscrupulous traders were responsible for artificially exceeding the quota due to the illegal act of selling subsidised diesel siphoned from oil stations in smaller towns. As at July 25, the ministry has recorded 48 cases of diesel smuggling in Sarawak and confiscated items valued at RM2.23mil. Minister Datuk Hasan Malek had said previously that the move to allocate 20 million litres nationwide until the end of July came after a Friday meeting with oil companies. From this, five million litres would go to Sabah, and approximately two million litres would go to Sarawak.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 15:18:25 +0000
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