‘Dangerous Political Sweetener’ – Gulam Questions RON95 Quota Increase

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government’s decision to restore the monthly BUDI95 RON95 fuel quota to 300 litres from Sept 1 has been described as a “dangerous political sweetener” by Umno Batu division chief Gulam Muszaffar.

Gulam questioned the Government’s decision to increase the quota to 300 litres after it was reduced to 200 litres in April, arguing that the policy reversal came less than five months after the initial cut.

He said the Government had previously justified the reduction by citing the impact of the war and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, while statistics showed that fewer than one per cent of BUDI95 recipients used more than 200 litres of RON95 a month.

“This raises the question of whether the explanation given by the Second Finance Minister in the Dewan Rakyat was misleading and merely intended to justify the reduction of the quota to 200 litres,” he said in a statement today.

Gulam said the latest decision to restore the quota was clearly influenced by political considerations, particularly following what he described as the Government’s poor performance in two recent state elections held within a five-month period.

“The people are not foolish. They know why the BUDI95 quota has been increased back to 300 litres,” he said.

However, he stressed that restoring the quota was not a comprehensive solution to the rising cost of living faced by Malaysians.

He said the increase in the prices of goods was driven by various factors, including electricity and fuel costs as well as the eight per cent Sales and Service Tax (SST), which had placed considerable pressure on households.

Gulam said the Government needed to adopt consistent policies in managing the micro-economy and cost of living instead of repeatedly changing policies according to political considerations.

“Policies should not be increased, reduced, amended and changed according to political taste and convenience, only to be used as political sweeteners.

“The sincerity to safeguard the people’s welfare is ultimately questionable,” he said.

Gulam also ended his statement with a warning to the public, drawing a comparison between political incentives and excessive sugar consumption.

“Remember, consuming too much sugar is dangerous to your health. Be careful,” he said.