MPs Call for Delay in RON95 Subsidy Rationalisation.
MPs Call for Delay in RON95 Subsidy Rationalisation.
Several Members of Parliament have urged the government to postpone the planned rationalisation of RON95 fuel subsidies, which is currently scheduled to begin in June 2025, Malaysiakini reported. During a special parliamentary sitting yesterday, Bersatu President Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin stressed the need to delay any fiscal policy changes that could drive up living costs, weaken business confidence, and burden consumers. “I want to highlight the upcoming RON95 price increase expected this July. The government should seriously consider postponing it if possible,” he said. Hamzah pointed toongoing economic uncertainties, particularly issues related to tariffs, as the main reason for his call to defer the move. This follows the government’s recent decision to also delay the expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), which was initially planned for May 2025 as announced in Budget 2025. Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng also echoed these concerns, urging the government to rethink its plan to float RON95 prices according to market rates. Currently, without subsidies, RON95 is priced at around RM2.69 per litre, compared to the subsidised rate of RM2.05 per litre, according to Double Petrol, an operator of a non-subsidised petrol station in Perlis. Since the proposal first emerged in 2018, the plan to rationalise RON95 subsidies has faced multiple delays and cancellations. Most recently, the government confirmed during the tabling of Budget 2025 that implementation would proceed in June 2025, after initially aiming for the second half of 2024. Meanwhile, diesel subsidy rationalisationhas already been implemented in Malaysia since June 2024. Separately, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan previously announced that MyKad would be integrated into the RON95 subsidy system, although the exact mechanism is still being finalised.
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