Gov't To Suspend, Revoke Diesel Fleet Cards For Subsidy Abuse – Fadillah 

PUTRAJAYA, April 6 (Bernama) -- The government will take firm action, including suspending and revoking fleet card approvals, against any parties found to be abusing diesel subsidies under the Subsidised Diesel Control Scheme (SKDS).

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the decision was agreed upon at a meeting of the High-Level Inter-Agency Coordination Committee on Combating Leakage and Smuggling, which he chaired at the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) here today.

He said the measure is aimed at ensuring the sustainability and stability of the nation’s energy supply.

“The global energy crisis resulting from the West Asian conflict has increased the risk of misappropriation and smuggling of controlled goods, particularly diesel and petrol,” he said during a briefing on the global energy crisis at the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) here today.

Meanwhile, Fadillah said the implementation of the SKDS through the use of fleet cards for the land freight transport sector will be expanded to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said the meeting also agreed to designate lead agencies for three identified sectors to curb leakage.

The land sector will be led by KPDN, the border sector by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), while the maritime sector will be overseen by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM), he said.

Meanwhile, to enhance and strengthen regulatory oversight over bunkering activities, the meeting agreed to establish a special task force, Ops Tiris 4.0 (Integrated), for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

“It will be co-chaired by the Federal Secretary and the State Secretary, with the respective State KPDN serving as the secretariat for both task forces, which will also involve relevant agencies at the state level,” he said.

He added that several strategic recommendations from the meeting will also be submitted periodically to the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) as an additional measure to ensure the stability of national supply.

In a related development, Fadillah said Ops Tiris 4.0 (Integrated), conducted from March 16 to April 5, recorded seizures of subsidised goods worth more than RM2 million, involving 8,148 inspections that resulted in 155 cases.

“Sixty cases involved diesel with seizure values exceeding RM2.1 million, 47 cases involving RON95 (RM51,299), 21 cases of liquefied petroleum gas (RM37,822), and 27 cases involving cooking oil, sugar and wheat flour,” he said.

He also stressed that the government remains mindful of global geopolitical uncertainties, particularly the conflict in West Asia.

“We recognise that this situation has significant potential to disrupt global supply chains and trigger instability in energy prices and essential goods.

“However, I would like to stress that the government will not allow the people to be affected by supply disruptions. We have strengthened preparedness through strategic and integrated measures to ensure that supply security in the domestic market remains under control,” he said.

Also present were Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali and Home Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Awang Alik Jeman.

-- BERNAMA