Robbery at petrol kiosks

Aug 3, 2007

Ministry issues sharp warning against plan to close kiosks from 10pm to 7am
By Hazlin Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR - THE Malaysian government and petrol dealers are at loggerheads over the dealers' plan to shut petrol stations nationwide for nine hours at night.

Petrol station owners said that, in about two months' time, their 3,200 stations would be closed between 10pm and 7am daily to avoid robberies and to cut operating costs.

But the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, which oversees petrol distribution, said the law forbids petrol dealers from taking unilateral action.

Domestic Trade Minister Shafie Apdal said tough action would be imposed on errant dealers, but did not specify what the penalty would be.

The clash came after the petrol dealers said they were planning to close their stations regardless of whether the government approved the move.

The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia cited security concerns.

'Each petrol station was robbed at least once last year,' assocation vice-president Zulkifli Mokti told The Straits Times yesterday.

The average daily collection between 10pm and 7am is only RM1,000 ($445) while the expense of running the station during those hours is about RM5,000, he said.

One Petronas dealer said robbers had raided his petrol station four times since 2002.

'They normally attack late at night or very early in the morning,' he told The Straits Times.

'They barge in wearing helmets and brandishing parangs and my staff will run away in fear.

Then they'll jump over the counter and raid the cashier,' he said.

He said he has had to install seven cameras, along with four television monitors, around his station at a cost of RM30,000.

He also complained that rentals had soared over the past year and staff turnover was high.

'Malaysians don't want to do the job, which is perceived as low-grade and for uneducated people,' he said.

But Datuk Shafie, citing the Control of Supply Act, said the dealers required permission from the government to close their stations.

'They are not allowed, except with the permission of the Controller of Supply, to close the petrol stations or stop their sales,' he said.

'I wish to remind them not to take action without consulting the government because, if they do, action will be taken against them,' he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

His deputy, Datuk S. Veerasingam, said closing petrol stations at night would limit consumers' access to a basic necessity.

The move could jeopardise the economy as petrol stations along the highways play a key role in supplying fuel to lorries which carry foodstuffs and other items important to the economy, he said.

Assistant salesman Noren Zainuddin said shutting the stations would be disastrous for those facing emergencies.

'Just imagine you are rushing to a hospital and have run out of petrol, and then you find out that all the stations are closed,' she was quoted as saying in Utusan Malaysia.