Savings Of Up To RM17bil If T20 Not Given Fuel Subsidy

According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, the government stands to save up to RM17bil if the T20 group is exempted from receiving fuel subsidies. He said that, this is because Putrajaya spent RM50.8bil last year on subsidies for petrol, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with the T20 group receiving approximately 35% (RM17.8bil), the M40 group receiving 41%, and the B40 group receiving 24%. "If we don't want the T20 to receive subsidies for petrol, LPG and diesel, the government can save between RM15bil and RM17bil.

"Imagine how the RM15 billion to RM17 billion can be used to help Malaysians through programmes from all 26 ministries," Ahmad said during Question Time. He was responding to a follow-up query from Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu), who inquired about steps being taken to alleviate the plight of families whose status had changed from M40 to B40. Ahmad earlier informed the House that RM66.3 billion was spent last year on various subsidies for things like gasoline, diesel, LPG, cooking oil, electricity bills, chicken, and eggs, which he claimed had successfully lowered the cost of living.

However, he continued, "its implementation, which was not targeted, has resulted in leakages. According to Ahmad, of the RM66.3 billion total, about RM2.4 billion was used to subsidise cooking oil, RM9.8 billion for electricity, RM1.8 billion for chicken and eggs, RM1.5 billion for other types of Sabah subsidy, and the remaining RM50.8 billion was used for fuel. He also noted that diesel subsidies increased to RM8.4 billion this year from RM5.8 billion in 2018 and RM6.1 billion in 2019. Was it caused by smuggling or actual consumption?

"As a result, we believe that diesel is being smuggled using a variety of techniques. The same holds true for RON95 fuel. Ahmad stated, "We will keep an eye on illegal smuggling through various government agencies. A targeted subsidy mechanism has been suggested for the government to use to make sure that only those in the B40 and M40 groups benefit.