Govt not abolishing diesel subsidies as perceived - Armizan

 

The perception that the government has decided to abolish diesel subsidy is incorrect, as it was only retargeted to address the long-standing issue of leakage resulting from blanket subsidies, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Armizan Mohd Ali.

Armizan explained that diesel subsidy is now targeted through retail price subsidy at petrol stations for 33 types of public and goods transportation via the Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS) and RM200 cash assistance for households using diesel vehicles for individuals or agri-commodity through the Madani Subsidy Assistance (Budi Madani).

“I want to correct the perception that the government wants to abolish diesel subsidy… we have not abolished them but have targeted them through these two methods,” he told a press conference after attending the SKDS 2.0 Open Day in Putrajaya today.

Last Monday, the Finance Ministry announced that the implementation of Budi Madani programme complements the existing government efforts in targeting diesel subsidy through the MySubsidi Diesel system managed by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.

On the mechanism for targeted diesel subsidies, Armizan said that this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry and will be announced by the ministry when the time comes.

Regarding diesel prices in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, the minister clarified that fuel prices would remain the same in these three locations after the targeted subsidy implementation in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Sabah and Sarawak (including Labuan) are exempted from this initiative because the government wants to plan carefully and systematically to minimise the impact on the people.

“Household dependence on diesel in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan is quite high due to the geographic factors there,” he said.

- Bernama