'Why reduce the people's subsidies before corporate's?'

Seri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has called on Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Hasan Malek to verify if the government is indeed intending to reduce sugar and flour subsidies, resulting in price hikes.

If so, he then questions the government’s rationale in reducing subsidies which directly affect the people instead of corporate subsidies, especially in view of the nations’ high illicit financial outflow.

“Pakatan (Rakyat) does not reject reduction of subsidies as a whole. However, the point in contention today is why are subsidies for the rakyat constantly being reduced first, before corporate subsidies?

“Why is the country facing such high illicit capital outflow and corruption every year without any serious action by the government?” the Selangor deputy speaker said in a statement today.

While the government frequently uses the excuse of a fiscal deficit to reduced subsidies, to Nik Nazmi, what is clear is that the government is facing a “deficit in confidence”.

He was referring to the statement made by Hasan (above) in theNew Straits Times yesterday on the possibility of an increase in prices ad sugar and flour subsidies may be affected by the government’s subsidy rationalisation, to be announce during the tabling of the Budget on Oct 25.

This, Nik Nazmi pointed out, contradicts the minister’s statement in September in which he assured consumers that prices for the two essential goods would not go up despite subsidy rationalisation exercise.