KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW) claimed that some petrol station operators at the border are complicit in cases of subsidised diesel smuggling as they sold unreasonable or repeated large quantities of diesel to smugglers.

Therefore, MCW urged the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) to conduct a detailed study on the amount of diesel sold at petrol stations in the border areas of the country.

“MCW also suggested that this study involves a comparison of the amount of diesel sold in the three months before and one week after the recently announced diesel price increase,“ he said in a statement today.

MCW said if there is a significant difference in the amount of diesel sold, strict action should be taken against the gas station involved to ensure that there is no distortion or manipulation that harms consumers and the country.

The MCW statement referred to media reports which stated that some petrol stations in the border area were deserted after the targeted diesel subsidy came into effective.

“The situation raises questions about the behaviour of diesel purchases by consumers, especially in border areas,“ according to the statement.