JOHOR BARU: Strict action will be taken against Singaporeans who display fake Malaysian number plates on their vehicles to fill up with RON95 petrol.
State Road Transport Department (RTD) director Azmil Zainal Adnan said foreign vehicles fitted with Malaysian plate numbers are in violation of Section 108(3)(f) of the RTD Act 1987, which carried steep penalties, including fines ranging from RM5,000 to RM20,000, or an imprisonment term up to five years, or both.
He warned that stern action would be taken against foreign motorists found violating the act.
The warning followed a viral post on X, in which a user alleged that he came across a Singaporean driver swapping his car's licence plates with fake Malaysian plates in an attempt to fill up with RON95 subsidised fuel meant for Malaysians.
The user claimed that a police report had been lodged, however, at press time, police said no reports were received.
Malaysia's RON95 petrol price is among the lowest in the world.
The government subsidises the RON95 petrol for Malaysians, which is calculated using an automatic pricing mechanism (APM), a managed float system that follows the market price of crude oil.
Given the high price of petrol in Singapore, which is around S$2.70 per litre, it is believed that many of the republic's citizens frequently cross the border to buy fuel, currently at 60 Singapore cents per litre.
Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister, said in his 2025 Budget speech that foreigners and the ultra-wealthy were enjoying 40 per cent of the government's RON95 petrol subsidy, which was valued at RM8 billion.
This spurred plans for targeted subsidies starting the middle of next year.
Azmil said Malaysian law mandated that all motor vehicles must display registration plates clearly on both the front and rear of the vehicle, while the use of fraudulent plates was a punishable offence.
He said RTD officers would be deployed to conduct intelligence and surveillance operations to detect offenders, he told the New Straits Times today.
"We will proceed with monitoring and intelligence gathering to identify and act on any instances of this misconduct.
"Singaporean motorists are encouraged to adhere to RTD regulations to avoid severe consequences, as RTD aims to uphold compliance and enhance road safety standards," he added.