KUANTAN: More than 80 fishermen in Kampung Chempaka near here, who are entitled to subsidised petrol, have been paying the regular price due to technical problems at the appointed fuel stations.

They claimed that the machines used for subsidised petrol at the two appointed stations in Jalan Teluk Sisek were always off-line.

"Most of the time, we have to buy petrol at the normal price as we don't want to return home empty-handed," said fisherman Mohd Arif Rajab.

The 48-year-old said the technical glitch was happening more frequently after the government announced the increase in fuel prices.

"Maybe it's a coincidence, but this problem should not occur. It has affected hundreds of inshore fishermen here," said the father of six.
He claimed that some of the fishermen could not go out to sea as they could not afford the expensive petrol.

"We need about 25 litres of petrol for each trip and it's too expensive at the normal price. It's more difficult if our catch is poor," Mohd Arif said.

Mohd Asri Abdul Rahman, 36, said the fishermen had to travel 20km to the town just to get the subsidised petrol.

"If the machine is off-line, we are not entitled to the subsidised petrol. The petrol station staff also refuse to give us the special rate if our card cannot be read by the machine," he said.

Kampung Chempaka village head Zaib Alip hoped the matter would be resolved soon, adding that he had brought it to the attention of the fishermen association and the agencies.