Don’t blame only dealers over watered down petrol, says trade group

 Claims about fuel quality should be investigated across the supply chain rather than automatically blamed on dealers, the petrol dealers association says.

The petrol dealers association said there is no commercial gain for its members to deliberately mix water with petrol.

PETALING JAYA:

The Petrol Dealers’ Association of Malaysia has rejected claims that its members deliberately mix water into petrol for commercial gain, saying they had no economic incentive to do so.

“Such actions would only damage vehicles, harm customer confidence and jeopardise their own businesses,” the association said in a statement tonight after numerous claims across several states last month, including Perak and Kedah, that RON95 petrol was mixed with water, resulting in vehicular damage.

The association said that preliminary inspections conducted by the domestic trade and cost of living ministry at 11 petrol stations in Kedah and six in Perak found no indication of water in the underground fuel storage tanks inspected.

However, these findings were preliminary, limited to the stations examined, and do not necessarily cover all reported cases and therefore “should not be taken as conclusive”, it said.

Dealers do not manufacture or blend petrol, but rely on oil companies to supply fuel, the association said. “Any alleged fuel-quality issue should be investigated across the relevant supply chain rather than automatically blamed on individual dealers”.

The association also advised the public against circulating unverified allegations online, particularly those naming specific stations, and allow investigations to be completed. “Official laboratory findings should guide fair, evidence-based action,” it said.

Petrol station dealers affected by such claims were urged to lodge police reports and inform the association. - FMT