Petrol Stations Might Operate For 18 Hours In Protest Of Weekly Float Pricing From 1 Jan
Petrol dealers are requesting a higher commission.
By Sadho Ram — 30 Dec 2018, 06:07 PM
According to a report in The Star Online, petrol dealers might start limiting daily operating hours to 18 hours instead of 24 hours from 1 January if the government persists with its weekly fuel price float
Khairul Annuar Abdul Aziz, president of the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM), was quoted saying by The Star Online that petrol dealers in the country have to resort to severe cost-cutting measures in the face of Pakatan Harapan Government's planned move to re-introduce weekly fuel float pricing, which kicks in from 1 January.
Along with reducing the operating hours for petrol stations, the other thing in the cost-cutting measure includes letting go of employees due to the minimum wage increase.
On 2 November, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced the new minimum salary in Parliament, setting it at RM1,100 to start from 1 January 2019.
A gathering of the PDAM during a news conference in Shah Alam 30 December 2018.
Image via Malay MailKhairul says PDAM is against the weekly pricing mechanism as petrol dealers would be exposed to the risks of oil price fluctuations
"We are not against the price drop, but the quantum is very big, and moreover, we don't control our own stock ordering and fuel product pricing, so if prices go down, we are left with more stock at midnight, but even if prices go up, the gain is not a lot."
According to the PDAM president, when the monthly and then weekly floats were introduced respectively in December 2014 and in March 2017, it had caused dealers to lose a total of RM91 million
The Petroleum Dealers Association of Malaysia has also urged the government to raise their members' sales commission to 15 sen per litre for petrol and diesel from the current commission of 12 sen per litre for petrol and seven sen per litre for diesel.
He argues that they have been getting the same commission for 10 years, regardless of whether there is a rise or drop in the prices of the fuels, reported Malay Mail.
And if their request for a higher commission was not fulfilled by the government, the dealers would have no other option but to resort to several drastic measures, one of which included shortening of daily operating hours from 24 hours to 18 hours.
