Seeing Singapore drivers pump petrol in JB has become increasingly common
So by now, we should all be aware that more and more Singapore registered vehicles have been spotted in and around Johor Bahru (JB) here in Malaysia, particularly over the last few months as petrol prices have surged and normally it is no big deal, but how far is too far? Well, let’s find out.
So on 16 February 2023, a netizen recorded a video of a Singapore-registered Mercedes-Benz driver pumping Ron97 petrol (which is not as heavily subsidized and typically set aside for non-Malaysians), so far all good right? Well, the driver was seen pumping the fuel into plastic containers, these are not meant to carry petrol.
Moreover, According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Statutes Online, the transporting of fuel of less than 20 litres in Singapore without a licence is allowed and this pertains to fuel purchased locally so the only way to truly regulate this is up to the petrol station operators to record the comings and goings of each car.
This is definitely not going to happen as there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cars going in and out of petrol stations everyday. While I don’t like what this driver did, he did not do anything illegal and so while I don’t condone his actions, I think we can let this slide.
However, many people in Malaysia, particularly lower income families, are already struggling to make ends meet so we do not need anyone from Singapore or anywhere else for that matter coming in and making things harder for us.
On top of that, Mercedes-Benz is not a cheap brand, luxury always comes at a price after all, but knowing that cars cost significantly more in Singapore than they do in Malaysia, one has to question, was this Singapore driver being cheap when he can clearly afford it or was there a different reason behind his actions?
Well, according to my favourite internet rabbit hole, reddit, some netizens pointed out that the Singapore-registered Mercedes-Benz driver may have been doing this to help a friend who’s car ran out of fuel or perhaps he was going to use the fuel to go on a fishing trip. These situations are definitely possible.
While I will not sit here and argue how likely or unlikely these possibilities are, I still standby my view of this being wrong solely due to the fact that the driver did not carry the highly flammable petrol in the proper containers. Despite, JB to Singapore being a short drive, dangerous is still dangerous and to me, wrong is always wrong.
Now I pass the question on to you, our readers, should Singapore and JB enforce stricter border control laws and/or at least monitor things like this more meticulously so that in the event of a car “love tapping” the rear of another car carrying petrol will not lead to explosions and possibly the loss of life?
We got all this from MSNews and their full article is linked here. Thank you MSNews for the information and images.
