Malaysia’s Anwar douses row over diesel supplied to Philippines

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for an end to allegations of diesel being supplied to the Philippines, stating that the claim is untrue.Anwar said the recent shipment of diesel was not from national oil company Petronas but from a foreign commodity company, Vitol.“They [Vitol] have an agreement to transport oil and sell it to the Philippines. It is not us [Petronas] supplying it to the Philippines,” he said.“But we are not stopping it. We are giving passage. The oil belongs to parties under foreign agreements,” he said.“I hope this controversy will stop, and that focus is given to developing the country amid the current challenging economic conditions.”Anwar was speaking at a gathering with Terengganu Islamic students at SM Imtiaz Yayasan Terengganu, Bernama reported.Petronas had earlier denied reports linking it to diesel shipments from Malaysia to the Philippines.The national oil company, in a statement, said it had never entered into any agreement on the matter with any party in the Philippines.The communications ministry had on Sunday explained that Malaysia was not directly involved in the transaction and that it was a deal solely between the Philippine government and an international private company.It said Malaysia’s role was only to serve as a transit and logistics point for the shipment, of which the diesel was sourced from the global market and not supplied by Petronas.01:46Rising diesel prices push Filipino farmers to financial breaking point