Unusually high sales of diesel in March and April reinforced the government’s decision to standardise diesel prices nationwide and channel subsidies directly to eligible Malaysians. According to finance minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, sales at petrol stations in Sabah and Sarawak reached an unusually high 200 million litres a month during those two months.
This, he said, was around twice the level expected based on the number of registered diesel vehicles, highlighting significant subsidy leakages, as The Star reports. As non-citizens were also able to purchase subsidised diesel in Sabah and Sarawak at RM2.15 per litre, the wide price gap with neighbouring countries had encouraged smuggling despite enforcement efforts.
“Setting the retail price at the unsubsidised level nationwide will help close these leakages,” he told the Dewan Rakyat. He said that the Budi Madani Diesel (Budi Diesel) programme, which begins on July 1, was not only aimed at reducing fiscal leakages but also ensuring the country’s fuel supply remained secure amid the present global supply disruptions.
He said the government and Petronas had worked to diversify fuel supply sources following the Middle East conflict, but such efforts would be undermined if subsidy leakages continued unchecked.
Malaysian fuel subsidies ballooned from RM700 million a month in January to around RM5 billion in March, peaking at RM7.5 billion at one point in April after global crude oil prices climbed above USD120 a barrel. Earlier this week, Amir said the reforms are expected to generate savings of up to RM2 billion annually.
Under the Budi Diesel scheme, Malaysian citizens with a valid identity card (MyKad) and driving licence (LMM) owning a privately-owned diesel vehicle with a valid road tax (LKM) registered in their name will be able to access subsidised B10/B15 diesel at RM2.10 per litre, at a monthly quota of 200 litres, which is shared with Budi95. Foreign-registered vehicles cannot be filled with subsidised diesel, and diesel prices at the pump for B7 diesel will be standardised at market rates nationwide.
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S&S get cheap diesel cheap roadtax . yet they still complain. they are also stealing , sorry i mean “taking over” petronas assets. these greedy ungrateful thieving traitors should be evicted from our federation in the same way that singapore was evicted 50 years ago.