KUALA LUMPUR – Sarawak should be exempted from the subsidy rationalisation plan for RON95 fuel, just like that of diesel, a lawmaker from the state told Dewan Rakyat today.
Chong Chieng Jen (Stampin-PH) said that Putrajaya should be cautious in implementing the targeted subsidies on RON95 as he explained that Sarawak has been the country’s main oil-producing state. He also pointed out that fossil fuel has generated a lot of revenue for both Putrajaya and the Sarawak government in recent years in the form of sales tax and royalties.
“However, Sarawakians aren’t able to enjoy the benefits coming from natural resources that originate from their own state.
“Therefore, I appeal (to the government) to let Sarawakians continue enjoying a much lower RON95 price in Sarawak,” he said while debating Budget 2025 in the lower House.
Sarawak and Sabah were exempted from the targeted diesel subsidy policy which took effect on June 10 in the peninsular due to the states’ heavy reliance on the fuel, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously.
Under Budget 2025, the government has planned to exclude households in the T15 income category from receiving RON 95 fuel subsidy, when the move commences mid-next year, while the remaining 85% of Malaysians would not be affected.
However, the government has not yet reached a final decision on which households will precisely fall into the T15 group.
Therefore, Anwar said in the Parliament on October 29 that the government is in the process of determining the threshold requirements for implementing targeted subsidies on the fuel. – November 5, 2024