Petrol Dealers’ Association of Malaysia (PDAM) president Khairul Anwar Abdul Aziz said the shortage was due to an “extraordinary” surge in demand for fuel as more vehicles were on the road for the Hari Raya holidays.

He added that demand in Klang Valley petrol stations had gone up by 40-50% while it was up to 150% on rest stops along highways.

“It is not an issue of a nationwide shortage. The problem is delivering fuel to petrol stations on time.

“Our tankers can’t reach stations due to the heavy traffic,” he told FMT.

Khairul said the demand was also the highest recorded during a Raya holiday period.

He said oil and gas companies did not expect the demand to be this high. The demand was double the usual 20% extra quota for the festive period.

He said, however, motorists need not fret as the delay in fuel supplies was only by half a day.

“I think the worst affected are the east coast states and those in the outskirts on the west coast.

“We expect supply will be back to normal by Monday,” he said.