KOTA KINABALU, Oct 4 — The subsidies given by the government to the people throughout the country including electricity, fuel and food is expected to exceed RM81 billion this year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said even though the figure is seen as high, reducing the total subsidy without looking at the needs of the people is not a choice to the government to ensure the people are not burdened especially by the current cost of living.

Therefore, he said the rationalisation of subsidies being implemented by the government is important in ensuring the people are assisted while the country’s economy remains strong.

“Subsidy is an intervention by the government to ease the people’s burden. Subsidies for chicken and eggs amounted to RM3.8 billion but reducing the subsidies would not an option as it will raise the cost of living to the people, therefore a more resilient policy is needed to reduce (subsidies) which is the rationalisation of subsidies.

“With such a (high) amount of subsidies, no country can survive, some will lessen,” he said while launching the Islamic Affairs Management Convention in conjunction with the 2023 Ijtimak Perdana Agensi Agama Seluruh Malaysia (IJPAM) at the Sabah International Convention Centre here tonight. — Bernama