The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) has urged the federal government to delay introducing the RON 95 petrol subsidy rationalisation plan until critical industry issues are resolved, reports FMT.
PDAM president Khairul Annuar Abdul Aziz said dealer margins, that are fixed under the automated pricing mechanism (APM), had not been revised since 2019 and now not reflected current operating costs. Moreover, he voiced concern over the merchant discount rate (MDR) imposed on card payments, which increases as fuel prices rise but leaves dealers’ per-litre commissions untouched.
“With out a margin revision, small and medium-volume station operators will face losses from the very first day of the RON 95 subsidy rationalisation implementation. And as pump prices increase under the rationalisation, the MDR rises accordingly, but dealer commissions remain static, leading to an extra erosion of margins,” he said in a press release. PDAM represents over 4,000 petrol stations nationwide and had previously voiced similar concerns last 12 months (Facebook post attached below).
The RON 95 petrol subsidy rationalisation plan is about to be implemented within the second half of 2025, as revealed by second finance minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan just a few days ago. A couple of days before that, former economic minister Rafizi Ramli said the plan had been fully handed over to the finance ministry.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org