There were very strong rumors and unnamed sources before this in the papers but now it’s official – the tiered fuel subsidy plan has been scrapped! Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob made the announcement today and also said that there would be no increase in fuel prices for now. I think that we’re going to see is the fuel price being raised slowly and slowly to let us slowly get used to unsubsidized fuel prices.
The highest fuel price we’ve had to endure so far has been RM2.70 per litre for RON97 fuel and RM3.15 per litre for Shell V-Power. This was between the 5th of June 2008 to the 23rd of August 2008. However, there was also a RM625 fixed fuel subsidy issued through Pos Malaysia during that period. You could claim the money when you renewed your road tax. Petrol prices remained high throughout most of the second half of 2008 but was slowly reduced during that period until it settled down to the current prices of under RM2 per litre in December 2008.
