BUTTERWORTH, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- The Penang Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) is expanding its investigation into alleged RON95 petrol quality issues across the entire supply chain to identify any factors potentially linked to the matter.
State KPDN Director S. Jegan said the move followed investigations at the consumer and petrol station levels, including taking fuel samples for analysis by the Department of Chemistry.
“We have looked into the consumer and petrol station levels. This is the next stage, and this approach is important to ensure that the investigation is not focused only on the final stage, namely petrol stations and consumers.
“Instead, it also takes into account the entire fuel supply chain to help KPDN identify any factors that could potentially be linked to the issue currently under investigation,” he told reporters after conducting a working visit to a fuel supply depot in Perai here today.
The visit was aimed, among other things, at examining fuel handling processes, including receiving, storage, management, quality control and distribution before the fuel is delivered to petrol stations.
He added that fuel samples from the depot would also be taken and sent to the Department of Chemistry, while samples from the first eight complainants had already been obtained from petrol stations, as well as their vehicles or workshops, for the same purpose.
Jegan said the department had received 33 complaints, up from 21 previously, involving about 30 petrol stations operated by two brands across Penang.
Regarding the timeframe for receiving the analysis results, he said the process typically takes about a month, although he did not rule out the possibility of obtaining the results earlier.
However, he said the visit to the depot did not mean KPDN had concluded that the issue stemmed from any specific stage in the supply chain or any particular oil company.
"At present, we have yet to find anything unusual. Only when the actual results are released by the department can we determine whether it is contaminated or not," he said.
He advised consumers experiencing problems related to fuel quality to lodge official complaints with KPDN and the relevant oil companies to facilitate further inspections and investigations.
Consumers with clear evidence that their vehicle damage was caused by the purchased fuel may also file a claim through the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia (TTPM), he added.
Previously, allegations went viral on social media regarding the presence of water in RON95 petrol, which purportedly caused problems for consumers' vehicles after filling up at several petrol stations in Penang.
-- BERNAMA