The sale of petrol in bottles - locally known as minyak botol - is not particularly common in the main urban centres of the Klang Valley, but the small-scale retail trade is widespread in semi-urban areas, villages, and the interior of several states.

In Kelantan, a Malaysiakini survey found that the practice is deeply entrenched, with bottled petrol sales long considered a tradition, and continuing to attract steady demand from local users.