KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — The government and Petronas are not selling fuel to other countries, as previously emphasised by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement today that reports involving diesel shipments from Malaysia to Australia actually refer to fuel owned by international companies but stored in Malaysia.
“The diesel does not originate from Malaysia’s natural resources. It is similar to a previous situation involving the Philippines, where the diesel was not Malaysian, but belonged to international companies that purchased crude diesel from other countries and stored it in Malaysia.
“The fuel is now being sold to Australia through a contract between Viva Energy and BP Australia (as mentioned in the news report), and it is described as ‘from Malaysia’ because the vessel collected the fuel stored in Malaysia,” read the statement.
Previously, there were claims by certain parties alleging the government is selling oil to Australia amid the global supply crisis.
Anwar earlier asserted that Malaysia prioritises domestic fuel needs, saying that following discussions with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, both countries understand each other’s supply needs.
