Petrol station operators need to be more creative and come up with other income generating ideas instead of just relying on selling petrol, says Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
Responding to a media report that operators were giving up their dealership due to swingsof weekly fuel prices, he said it was up to the operators to ensure they profit from their business.
“They have to create something, not depend solely on petrol,” he said after launching the Companies Act 2016 Awareness programme at the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM)
On the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia’s plan to send a letter of appeal to the Government, Hamzah said he was waiting for the letter.
Advising the operators to be creative, he said a kiosk operator in his hometown of Selama, Perak, made a thriving business by also operating a cafe and launderette at his station.
“It’s in a small village with not many visitors. But it thrives and the operator is very successful,"
He said motorists should understand that the Government cannot sustain the fuel price forever as it was determined by the global market.
Hamzah rubbished claims that the higher fuel price was due to taxes. On views that the exemption of cabotage shipping fees would cause a drop in the prices of goods in Sabah and Sarawak, Hamzah said this was uncertain.
“Prices for some goods could come down, but not for all goods,” he said, adding that there were other costs involved.
He said ships transporting goods to Sabah and Sarawak would charge double for transportation fees if they have no cargo on the return trip.
“It is only when they have cargo to bring back that the transportation fees will reduce,” he said.
The Sabah United Chinese Chamber of Commerce recently said Sabah businessmen believed the exemption of the cabotage shipping fees will see a drop in food prices.
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