KUALA LUMPUR – The government is expected to finalise its proposed review of fuel subsidies involving high-income earners or the T20 group in the near future.
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said the proposal paper had been submitted nearly a month ago by a committee under the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) and is currently being refined.
According to Anwar Ibrahim, the government has yet to decide whether the subsidy rationalisation would involve the T20, T15, T10 or even T5 groups as it does not want the broader middle-income segment to be unfairly burdened.
“We have been studying the proposal over the past three weeks. In principle, there is agreement that subsidy reforms are necessary, but the implementation must be properly targeted,” he said.
He said this after attending a gathering session with Indian students at the University of Malaya today.
Anwar was commenting on a proposal by UMNO Youth chief, Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, who recently urged the government to reassess RON95 fuel subsidies for the T20 group.
Akmal Saleh reportedly said fuel subsidies should be channelled more effectively towards the B40 and M40 groups who are more affected by rising living costs and global economic uncertainties.
The Prime Minister stressed that the government remains cautious in implementing any subsidy reforms to ensure the rakyat, particularly middle-income earners, are not adversely affected.
The government is currently spending billions of ringgit monthly on fuel subsidies amid fluctuating global oil prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
At present, the subsidised RON95 fuel price under the BUDI95 mechanism remains at RM1.99 per litre for eligible recipients, while unsubsidised fuel prices continue to float weekly according to market pricing mechanisms. -MalayaDailyToday
