Closure of Sabah petrol kiosks only rumours: Shahrir
KUALA LUMPUR:
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abd Samad has quashed rumours that petrol kiosks in Sabah will be closed for several days as a protest against commission received. He said rumours that the kiosks would be closed for three days caused widespread panic among motorists in Sabah. “They were only rumours. The Ministry assures that Petronas kiosks will be opened for business as usual. The kiosk operators are demanding for higher commissions and this will be discussed with the Finance Ministry,” he told reporters at Parliament lobby here yesterday. He said the rumours involved only petrol kiosks in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan. Should the kiosks be closed, it would not affect the other operators as other companies like Shell had said they would be opened for business. “I can assure that Petronas kiosks will not be affected including the proposed closure here on Thursday (June 26). “The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) had been told to keep the kiosks open despite their threat to close on Thursday,” he added. Shahrir also said that reluctance by some petrol kiosks to accept credit cards would burden consumers and reduce their income. He said a weekly report on the sale of fuel by credit cards was needed to facilitate monitoring. “Some kiosks are not accepting credit cards as they make more from making cash sales. The same thing happened when the fuel price increased in United States,” he said. The Minister said there was a need for a fair mechanism so that the operators and consumers benefit. He did not dispel the possibility that the commission would he increased so that consumers continued to use credits cards at kiosks. -Bernama
