Petrol station operators still waiting for aid from govt

Many petrol station operators say they have experienced a drop in earnings since the movement control order was implemented in mid-March.

PETALING JAYA: Petrol station operators jittery about cash flow after nearly two months of low sales under the movement control order (MCO) are questioning the allocation of special relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), saying they are told that the funds have been used up.

Petrol Dealers Association Malaysia (PDAM) president Khairul Annuar Abdul Aziz said the group’s members applied for the aid in early April but were told that the money was finished.

“We had to apply through banks; they told us that the money had been used up.

“We hope the finance ministry can clarify this because more than half of our members’ applications are still being processed,” he told FMT.

The special aid was part of the RM4.5 billion announced by Putrajaya in March to help SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs cope with the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

While the funds may have been approved based on industry needs, Khairul said, many association members who are among the smaller entities did not receive any aid.

In particular, he said, the wage subsidy for SMEs to help retain workers never trickled down to them.

He added that this could be due to a backlog in the system.

However, with traffic expected to return to normal soon, he said operators did not have the money to buy new stock to keep pace with demand.

“We managed to talk to oil companies who are extending the credit of 14 days to 30 days,” he added.

He said the oil companies had agreed to extend the credit as their tankers anchored off-shore pay a daily charter of about RM80,000 in rental.

“Most of them are extending credit dates because their fuel is stuck and cannot be sold. They are waiting for us to start selling the fuel.

“But the 30-day extension, that’s the best they can offer us. After that, we do not know how many of us will go bust.”

As early as March, Khairul had said petrol dealers were struggling to break even amid a drop in world oil prices.

He said then that operators had lost about 70% of their regular earnings since the MCO was implemented on March 18 as oil prices continued dropping each week, eating into their profits. - FMT