A photo on Facebook page ‘Buletin Kapit, Sarawak’ appears to show long queues at one of the two fuel stations in Kapit due to the fuel shortage.
KUCHING: Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Chong Chieng Jen has blamed the petrol and diesel shortage problem in Kapit on the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
The fuel shortage hit the district yesterday, resulting in long queues for petrol and diesel at the only two stations there.
“The Kapit petrol and diesel shortage problem is one of the many problems that the Pakatan Harapan government inherited from the previous BN government,” Chong said in a statement today.
“At the moment, there are only two petrol stations in Kapit, one Petronas and one unbranded petrol station.
“Previously, many have applied to open up more petrol stations to serve the people in the area but such applications were either rejected or put on long hold by the previous government,” he claimed.
Chong has proposed a short-term and long-term solution the problem, with the short-term solution involving contacting the oil companies to take immediate action to increase supply to the area, though he admits that it would not solve the recurring problem in the long run.
“My ministry has engaged with a few oil companies to facilitate the opening of a few mini petrol stations or even Portable Container System (PCS) pump stations along the periphery of Kapit town to serve the needs of the people in the area,” he said, alluding to a long-term solution.
“We are at the final stage of formulating this new policy and I am confident that before Hari Gawai this year, the people of Kapit will see at least two additional PCS pump stations, if not mini petrol stations, in the surrounding area.”
Chong concluded by saying that his ministry was currently reviewing several policies to improve delivery systems to rural areas.
Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Sarawak deputy director Md Nawawi Ab Rahman said yesterday that the fuel supply ran out due to news about the price drop on Jan 1, 2019 – causing consumers to buy fuel in large quantities from the Petronas station.
“Fuel supply is still available at an unbranded petrol station, located opposite the Petronas station and should be adequate if there is no panic buying,” he said, advising consumers against panic buying.