Surging fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East has many Malaysians concerned about paying more at the pump, but social media posts claiming petrol prices will increase sharply in fact share fabricated graphics. Local broadcaster TV3 and the Finance Ministry both denied publishing the circulating graphics, which feature inaccurate prices of petrol and diesel.

"Petrol Price from 1st April 2026. Source : TV3," reads a Facebook post shared on March 31, 2026.

The accompanying graphic includes the logo of local broadcaster TV3 and lists purported prices for unleaded and high-performance petrol, as well as separate diesel prices for peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (archived link).

It also states the supposed price hikes will come into force on April 1.

Similar posts sharing the same graphic circulated across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp.

Other posts shared on March 31 make a similar claim about fuel price increases but share a different graphic, supposedly released by Malaysia's Ministry of Finance.

Malaysia heavily subsidises fuel, with eligible citizens paying just 1.99 ringgit (US$0.49) per litre of unleaded petrol (archived link).

However, with global crude prices soaring and the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed following the war in the Middle East that was started by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the quota for subsidised fuel would be reduced from 300 litres to 200 litres per month from April 1 (archived here and here).

Meanwhile, the price of unsubsidised fuel in Malaysia would follow global market prices.

The circulating graphics in fact surfaced online ahead of the government's usual fuel price announcement for each week on Wednesday evenings (archived link).

A Google keyword search led to a Facebook post by TV3 on March 31 denying that it had published the graphic or any such report (archived link).

"Buletin TV3 has never published or released any information about fuel prices as circulated on social media," the broadcaster said, adding that it will lodge a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for further investigation.

A separate keyword search on Google found the Ministry of Finance rejected the second circulating graphic in a statement on its official Facebook page on March 31 (archived link).

"The graphic is not authentic and was not issued by the authorities," reads the Malay-language post, emphasising the official announcement would be made every Wednesday on the ministry's official channels.

The last announcement was made on March 25, with prices effective until April 1 (archived link).

The price of standard unleaded RON95 petrol was set at 3.87 ringgit per litre, while high-performance RON97 gasoline was 5.15 ringgit per litre. The ministry said it would continue to maintain subsidies for RON95 petrol for that week.

AFP has debunked other false claims linked to the energy crisis here.