Why is this topic relevant to me?
You might think “global energy crisis” sounds like something far removed from your daily life, but really, every time you pull up at a petrol station, you’re already part of the story: how much you spend on petrol each month, whether your state happens to be particularly “thirsty” for fuel… And with some countries’ fuel supplies running tight, and petrol stations abroad imposing purchase limits, are we cutting back — or carrying on regardless?
Earlier this year, escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered a global energy crisis. Beyond the swings in oil prices, there was, for a while, real concern over whether fuel supplies would hold up in the months ahead.
Against this backdrop, has Malaysia’s petrol consumption actually been affected? We pulled together RON95 petrol usage data from across the country’s states for the first half of 2026 (January to June) to see what the numbers reveal.
Half a Year’s Worth of Petrol Enough to Fill 3,500 Swimming Pools
According to figures released by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Malaysia used 8.9 billion litres of RON95 petrol in the first half of this year — enough to fill 3,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Laid out across the six months, March saw the highest petrol usage nationwide, driven directly by the Hari Raya balik kampung exodus.
The month of May came in a close second. With a long weekend coinciding with the school holidays, family outings pushed usage up once again.
Five States and Kuala Lumpur: Over 100 Litres Per Driver a Month
Looking at the state-by-state breakdown, Selangor, Johor and Perak recorded the highest total petrol usage nationally, while Perlis, Melaka and Terengganu used the least.
As of last year, there were approximately 15 million holders of Competent Driving Licences (CDLs) nationwide. Based on these figures, the average monthly fuel consumption per driver in the first half of 2026 was less than 200 litres, which is broadly in line with the figures previously released by the Government.
However, when calculated against the number of driving licence holders in each state, drivers in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Johor, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur each used over 100 litres of petrol a month on average — working out to petrol bills exceeding RM200 per person, per month.
These areas share a common trait: they’re either hubs of dense economic activity (as in the Klang Valley) or vast in area with long commuting distances (as in Pahang). High usage, in some sense, reflects the real cost residents bear simply to get around day to day.
Notably, while Pahang and Negeri Sembilan don’t rank among the states with the highest total petrol usage, their comparatively small pool of licence holders — combined with commuting needs that haven’t eased up — means the average monthly petrol bill per person comes out disproportionately high.
In other words, it’s not that people in these states are especially fond of driving — it’s that those who can drive end up shouldering a heavier share of the burden. This, in turn, points to potential gaps in public transport coverage in these areas.
Note: The 2025 estimates of driving licence holders by state are derived from data published by the Road Transport Department in 2021. Using the national total of licence holders in 2025 (15 million) and Selangor’s figure for the same year (3.11 million), we calculated the growth rate between 2021 and 2025, then assumed the same growth rate applied uniformly across all other states to estimate their respective figures.
8.9 Billion Litres in Six Months: In Line With Past Trends
At this rate, total petrol usage for the full year is projected to fall between 17 and 18 billion litres — broadly consistent with trends seen in previous years.
This suggests that, despite turbulence in international energy markets, Malaysians’ overall petrol consumption habits have not undergone any structural shift, at least in the first half of this year.
Shifting Travel Habits to Cut Petrol Use
In response to tight global fuel supplies, the Government has been working on two fronts: securing supply, and encouraging Malaysians to change how they get around, in order to reduce petrol consumption. As part of this effort, eligible civil servants have been permitted to adopt hybrid working arrangements since April, with the private sector encouraged to follow suit.
Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri revealed that, over just three months since mid-April, 659,000 civil servants collectively saved 4.4 million litres of RON95 petrol through hybrid working.
That figure may look modest — just below 1% of total national petrol usage over the same period — but if hybrid working were extended to more industries over a longer stretch of time, its impact on overall energy consumption could turn out to be more significant than it first appears.
Separately, ridership on Klang Valley rail and bus services rose year-on-year in March and April this year.
Commenting on this, Economy Minister Akmal Nasir said that as global supply pressures and the cost of living rise, more Malaysians are adjusting their travel habits and daily commuting spend, turning to more cost-effective options such as public transport.
“Amid global cost instability, these kinds of small changes matter a great deal in easing the burden on households,” he said.
Sources:
- Data.gov.my. (n.d.). Ridership headline. https://data.gov.my/data-catalogue/ridership_headline
- Free Malaysia Today. (2026, May 12). Public transport use rises as M’sians adjust to energy crisis, says minister. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/05/12/public-transport-use-rises-as-msians-adjust-to-energy-crisis-says-minister
- Parlimen Malaysia. (n.d.). Jawapan bukan lisan Dewan Rakyat. http://www.parlimen.gov.my/jawapan-bukan-lisan-dr.html
- The Edge Malaysia. (2025). The State of the Nation: Why data makes it smart to start RON95 subsidy retargeting with 300-litre quota. https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/772090