Caption: Charles (seated third from left) with the representatives of the Sabah Petroleum Dealers Association.
KOTA KINABALU: The recent proposal by Second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani for a ceiling price to be imposed on all grades of fuel is a serious concern to all the petroleum dealers in the country
Sabah Petroleum Dealers Association president, Charles Soong said this when expressing his concerns regarding the said proposal as they could foresee the possible emergence of a whole new set of problems.
The goal of the said proposal is to control the escalating fuel prices by allowing the oil companies to set up their own pump prices.
However, Charles said, this might not be the best solution.
“A price war among different brands will happen. Stations with lesser sales are bound to close down as the dealer margin may be lost due to a price war,” said Charles.
The consumers will suffer in the long run as the number of stations will be limited and consumers will have to spend even more in looking for a suitable station.
Charles disclosed that there are currently around 150 petrol stations in Sabah, and 60% of those stations might have to close down if the said proposal was adopted.
Charles said that the government could prevent this dilemma by doing what they were doing now, that is, by setting up a uniform price nationwide.
He also said that the reduction in income might force the stations to cut down on manpower, which might leave the consumers no choice but to pump the petrol themselves.
“We may see a lot more accidents occurring in the stations as the consumers today are still not well trained in self-service,” added Charles.
He further argued that these dangerous acts might even result in accidents and fire hazards.
Charles also said that the said proposal might affect the government’s current community drumming project, whereby oil is supplied directly to the rural areas.
“Our people in the remote area will suffer. Pensiangan is about 150 kilometres from the nearest town, which is Keningau, and therefore its residents will definitely be buying fuel at a much higher price,” said Charles.
He added that the proposal would cause more demand than supply, and thus resulting in ‘black market’ situations.
Commenting on the price margin issue, Charles said that as of now, the margin was given in sen per liter. Thus, if the fuel price escalates, the margin actually becomes lower.
“We humbly ask that the margin can be changed to percentage per liter instead. This will allow the dealers to continue to provide some facilities in the forecourt even though the pump prices go up,” added Charles.
The asociation invited the members of the media for a press conference addressing the aforementioned issue at Venetian Club, Lido yesterday, also attended by 19 other representatives from the association.