A SARAWAK DAP veteran today claimed that the alleged "diesel shortage" in Sarawak was orchestrated by powerful quarters who acquired huge amounts of government-subsidised diesel illegally for their big industrial businesses.
Chiew Ching Sing said the government-subsidised diesel is meant for the ordinary rakyat, but these powerful quarters are sucking the fuel from petrol stations for their fleets of heavy vehicles and machinery in numerous industrial zones.
Chiew is the state DAP treasurer and a former assemblyman who retired from active politics before the last state election.
Chiew had, during his active days in the state assembly, often raised this issue of subsidised diesel (meant for the public) being illegally acquired by big industrial players in the state which are not supposed to buy subsidised diesel from petrol stations.
He said the latest claims that there are shortages of diesel in Sarawak is yet another incident of government-subsidised diesel being sucked up by illegal means.
"It is not a real shortage. It is yet another artificial shortage caused by the blatant acts of powerful industrial businesses who are using illegal ways to buy huge amounts of government-subsidised diesel from petrol stations in cities and towns and rural bazaars.
"The government-subsidised diesel being sold in ordinary petrol stations is supposed to be only for the ordinary rakyat who drive normal vehicles.
"Those people with fleets of heavy-duty lorries, big trucks, cargo containers, commercial buses and heavy industrial machinery are not allowed under the law to buy the government-subsidised diesel from these petrol stations.
"They are supposed to buy diesel at commercial rates from diesel suppliers approved by the government and they are supposed to have their own fuel depot, not buy from normal petrol stations.
"However, in Sarawak, there are powerful people in the industrial arena who are using illegal methods to regularly acquire tonnes of government-subsidised diesel from these petrol stations. That is how the so-called diesel shortage happens and it has happened many times before.
"I have raised this issue before in the state assembly and public," he told The Vibes today.
Chiew said that no matter how much government-subsidised diesel is being channelled into Sarawak by Petronas, Shell, Esso or any other fuel suppliers, such "artificial shortages" will keep occurring if the illegal buyers continue to acquire the government-subsidised fuel.
"The question now is whether the federal government has the political will to stop such hanky-panky in Sarawak and are the enforcement agencies able to tackle these powerful elements behind this," he asked.
There had been many cases of enforcement agencies discovering big amounts of government-subsidised diesel being stored in illegal depots throughout Sarawak.
However, the real masterminds behind such illegal depots were never disclosed.
On October 18, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry busted an attempt to illegally store and sell government-subsidised diesel in the rural Sri Aman district in southern Sarawak, about 200km north of Kuching.
On August 7, the Marine Police in central Sarawak busted an attempt to smuggle 25,754 litres of government-subsidised diesel meant for the rural poor in the Igan interior district. – The Vibes, December 28, 2023
