PUTRAJAYA: Two short-term measures have been taken to overcome the RON95 supply issue encountered in several areas recently, a problem partly due to delays in the delivery of fuel to port terminals, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

       He said the first step was getting the cooperation of the Transport Ministry to speed up the process of releasing oil tankers delivering the fuel.

       Secondly, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry was continuously monitoring the situation to prevent any irregularities in the supply of vehicle fuel, especially RON95 petrol, he said in a statement on Monday (May 9).

       He said delays by tankers in delivering fuel to the terminals at Bagan Luar in Penang and Kuantan in Pahang had contributed to the fuel shortage during the Aidilfitri holiday period.

       Other factors which caused the fuel shortage were a marked increase in the number of vehicles on the roads and storage tank capacity issues at certain stations, he added.

       "The ministry would like to suggest that for the time being, motorists switch to other nearby oil brands which they don't normally use, as not all petrol stations faced this problem of disruption in supply," he said.

       Nanta said the ministry had taken early action by holding engagement sessions with the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) to ensure service station operators could meet the demand during the Aidilfitri celebration this year.

       The ministry had expected an unprecedented increase in the number of vehicles following the country's transition to the endemic phase of Covid-19 and reopening of its borders, which allowed the people to return to their hometowns, he said.

       He said in anticipation of a surge in demand, the ministry also allowed all petrol stations throughout the country to increase their fuel stocks.

       Under the Scheduled Controlled Goods Licensing Guidelines, the limits for stocks of petroleum products, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were set based on a support letter from the Fire and Rescue Department.

       "As such, every station has their own storage limit based on the size of the premises and underground tank system" he said. - Bernama