KUALA LUMPUR: Another minister has confirmed that the government is looking to adopt a more targeted fuel subsidy mechanism for the people to cushion the skyrocketing cost of goods following the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Senior International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the review was being discussed by the government following the sharp jump in the subsidy projection for 2022 to RM28 billion versus the RM11 billion bill for such expenditure in 2021.
"We (the government representatives) talked about the review in a special retreat recently; it has to be more targeted for the deserving. Those with BMWs cannot enjoy the same subsidies as those with Kancil.
"It was agreed that it needs to be reviewed for the more deserving," he said today.
Azmin did not go into details in the amount of savings that will be made with this move.
However, he did say the savings could be pumped into more subsidies for agriculture and food security, the latter of which was taking a hit due to dependency on imports for foodstuff, fertiliser and a dearth in technological applications and research and development (R&D).
Azmin said the money can also be used to beef up enforcement mechanism for agricultural subsidies to ensure there is no leakages.
The minister's comments follows official statements coming from Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag), which was in discussion with the Finance Ministry (MoF) on the increase of fuel subsidy bills amid the rising global crude oil prices.
In late April, Minister in the Prime Minister Department in charge of economy, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the government was likely to introduce a targeted fuel subsidy mechanism to cushion the impact of the rising price of crude.
He said the government was still working on a suitable structure for the mechanism and it was expected to be completed soon.
Malaysia has been facing a skyrocketing rise in prices of consumer goods due to the war in Ukraine, prolonged lockdown in China and effects of climate change.