Police Will Now Be Watching 170 Petrol Stations To Curb Fuel Smuggling
Malaysia is not stationing police at every petrol pump in the country; just the ones where the numbers don’t add up.
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The government has clarified — after some public confusion that was entirely of its own making — that Op Tiris 4.0 will focus enforcement on approximately 170 petrol stations near the border, not the 4,000-plus stations nationwide that many assumed were about to become police outposts.
The initial announcement landed with the subtlety of a fuel tanker, leaving a good portion of the public convinced that the police had apparently run out of crimes to solve.
Launched on 16 March, Ops Tiris 4.0 is to crack down on the smuggling of subsidised fuel — a problem that has gotten harder to ignore as global energy prices climb.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail put it plainly: “Kita bukan nak jaga semua 4,000 stesen minyak.”
Which, translated and summarised, means the government is working smart — or at least trying to.
The strategy is data-driven, which is a polite way of saying they are watching the numbers and waiting for something suspicious to happen.
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If The Numbers Don’t Add Up, Someone Will Show Up
Sales data from the Finance Ministry and the Domestic Trade Ministry will be used to flag stations recording abnormal volumes.
“Kalau nilai jualan itu mencanak, tak masuk akal, kita akan zoom in,” said Saifuddin.
If the sales figures spike in ways that defy basic logic, enforcement zooms in.
Border crossings into Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore are the primary concern — these are the routes subsidised fuel has been quietly taking on its way out of the country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh confirmed that police deployment is currently limited to land and water border crossings identified as high-leakage routes.
The suggestion of stationing officers at every petrol station was floated, considered, and quietly set aside — there simply are not enough officers to go around.
The Border Post Problem
In a moment of candour that deserved its own press release, Saifuddin also noted that the border control post at Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, resembles a burger stall shelter — and not a particularly nice one — and has since instructed the Home Ministry Secretary-General to upgrade it.
A country spending considerable resources to stop fuel from leaking across its borders has, it turns out, a border post that a burger stall would find embarrassing.
On supply, Fuziah confirmed there is no nationwide shortage — Petronas stations are running normally, with delays limited to stations supplied by foreign companies, and some operators facing cash flow constraints due to high diesel prices.
A separate technical issue involving pumps that ran meters without dispensing fuel has been resolved, with affected customers refunded.
Malaysia is not turning every petrol station into a checkpoint.
It is targeting 170 stations where the data suggests something worth watching, using police at the borders and enforcement officers on rotation closer to home.
The fuel is staying in the country — and the ‘burger stall’ is getting an upgrade.
READ MORE: Malaysia Did Not Send Its Diesel To The Philippines, It Just Processed Theirs
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