The government is currently studying the implementation of a diesel subsidy using a mechanism similar to that for Budi Madani RON 95 (Budi95) scheme for petrol, said communications minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, reiterating the outline that was indicated in April.
He said the matter was one of main focal points being deliberated by the cabinet amid ongoing discussions on targeted fuel subsidies, as The Star reports. “Right now, the government is examining issues related to diesel, including implementing diesel subsidies using a system similar to Budi95,” he said following a cabinet meeting earlier today.
In response to questions posed by reporters on whether the government was considering reducing the Budi95 quota following the current international situation, he said the matter was not discussed during the cabinet meeting, saying that the current focus was on aligning diesel subsidy distribution with the Budi95 mechanism.
On the concerns raised following remarks by deputy finance minister Liew Chin Tong suggesting the Budi95 quota could be reduced, Fahmi said the issue stemmed from a misunderstanding of Liew’s statement. “I understand that the statement was either retracted or the original report with the inaccurate headline was withdrawn by the media company involved. The deputy finance minister has since issued a clarification on what he meant,” he said.
“I watched the video recording of his speech and it was quite clear that he was referring to studies by the finance ministry examining different quota levels (300 litres, 200 litres, 150 litres and 100 litres), and how many Malaysians would benefit at each level. When those study levels were mentioned, they were misunderstood,” he added.
Asked by reporters on whether the government planned to redefine existing income categories such as T20 and M40, Fahmi said the issue did not arise during the meeting, as it falls under the purview of the economy ministry and the department of statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
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